MYTHS
by Wynn-J
Summary: W.I.T.C.H. was supposed to save to world. Fully harness their powers and stay friends forever. Except that didn't happen. Now after a generation has passed, Selena Lair thinks her mother is hiding something. And what falls after is a whole new story of chaos in a world she once thought was a legend. A New Generation WITCH story.
1. Prolouge: Normal

**M.Y.T.H.S.**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Summary: W.I.T.C.H. was supposed to save to world. Fully harness their powers and stay friends forever. Except that didn't happen. Now after a generation has passed, Selena Lair thinks her mother is hiding something. And what falls after is a whole new story of chaos in a world she once thought was a legend.**

Prologue: Normal

* * *

Looking back on it, Selena Lair thought she should have noticed her mom's weird behavior due to the fact she was staring at the cookie jar on the china cabinet like she wanted to hurl it out the window. Then burn it. And stomp on the ashes. But she had better things to think about that terrible morning.

It was the first day of eighth grade.

Now, for most this doesn't seem like a big deal, but for Selena it was. You see, she'd screwed up big time about two summers ago and it seemed as if that had changed the course of her entire life.

It was the first day of sixth grade and Selena had convinced herself that she could stop being a loner. She'd guessed she kind of deserved it for only making one friend through all of elementary school and then being ditched by her when she joined the drama club and made "new friends".

_Please_, Selena thought while searching for a top to wear that wasn't from Wal-Mart. She and her mom were having a hard time buying, well, _everything_. _Just because you make new friends doesn't mean you abandon your old ones._

Well, nevertheless, Selena saw the start of middle school as an opportunity to make friends. She was so excited about going to middle school, she forgot that she couldn't hang out with the populars, eat with the cheerleaders, sit with the drama freaks or start having a regular conversation with the Mock Trial team.

But they sure did remind her.

By public embarrassment. She never knew eleven year olds could be so cruel. They called her over to sit with them at lunch only to dump their chocolate milk _all over her_. She couldn't get the smell of rotten milk out of her hair for weeks which earned her the name Smell-ena for the rest of the year.

Ever since she ignored the snide comments about how ugly her clothes were from the populars. ("Hey, isn't that the top my little sister donated to Goodwill last month?") She ignored the cheerleaders talking about how they could still smell the milk after a whole month. ("Can't that girl work a shower?!") Ignored the Mock Trial team's comments about why her IQ qualified her as a trademarked idiot. ("In comparison, we're the bellwethers and you're the saxicolous penultimate.") And just plain ignored the Dramatics at _all times_, afraid of what her ex-best friend would say on the matter.

_Saxicolous penultimate. What does that even _mean_? _Selena thought grabbing her toast and munching on it while her mother talked on the phone holding out a box of cereal.

"Yes, Ms. Cook, I understand that but-." Pause. "I know this, but see, we're really going through a hard time right now and-." Pause. "TARANEE!" her mother shouted into the phone. Selena's eyes widened. While they had grown up together and were friends, Selena thought it was still weird to hear her mother talk to her principal by a first name basis.

"I know but we just can't afford it. Now right now." Selena quirked an eyebrow up and watched as her mother hung up the phone.

"Can't afford what right now?" Selena asked her mother curiously. Her mother avoided eye contact and focused on the cereal.

"Just another field trip. It's worth about 30% of your grade but…we just can't spring it." Selena shrugged as if to say _What are you gonna do?_

"It's totally fine mom." Selena lied. "I'll ask if there's some make up work I can do like always. And we can save up more money so I can go on the next trip." Irma lair looked at her daughter with sad eyes before waving her over and giving her a small hug.

"You're gonna be late, you should go." And with that Selena grabbed her last piece of toast and trudged out the door.

As she shoved the toast in her mouth and moved further towards the school, she heard the sound of a door opening and closing. She turned to see the most popular girl at Sheffield, Yolanda Parker, and her follower Breanna "Bree" Rencha. They saw her but pretended not to, as they thought Selena was a waste of space.

"And did you hear what _Derik Ray_ said to me at the last tournament?" Derik Ray was the hottest guy at Sheffield Institute. He was also the biggest player and Selena was into the more modest types so she eliminated him as a potential boyfriend even before the crisis in sixth grade. Rumor was he and Yolanda became an item during the last week of summer and spent their days playing hooky in public. "Saying _I_ should be caption of the Raiders instead of –the disgusting- Brooke Gardener? I was mad blushing." Bre nodded profusely, her blonde hair shaking as Yolanda held up her wavy brown hair to let her tie it into a pony tail. Brooke complied as best as she could, making a pink ribbon at the top, despite the fact she was carrying both their book bags. Tendrils of Yolanda's perfect hair was out at the front making her round face even _more_ perfect and Selena felt a trace of envy while walking behind them.

They walked in rhythm, ponytails bouncing simultaneously making their way to school early so they could sneak in like Selena knew they did every morning.

* * *

"Oh, and Mir?" Miranda Yale turned back around to face her mother in the limo, trying to leave it as fast as possible. If word got around Sheffield Institute that she was the daughter of Grace and Henry Yale, the inventors of, well, everything electronic she would get major baggage like she did at her last school in Denver. Now that they'd moved to New York, Miranda was able to keep her identity a secret so no one would know how excelled she was in the money department. And the brains department due to all the years of personal tutors and private schools.

"Yes, Mom?" Miranda asked aggravated, she was losing patience. Ignoring her rude expressions, Grace Yale smiled and held a closed and tightly sealed tubberware top out the window.

"I made you some cookies to help make new friends!" Miranda rolled her eyes. Her mother was desperate to make her find new friends due to the fact she'd never had any.

"You can't bribe eighth graders with cookies mom." Her mother was about to give her a hardened glare when the driver asked with a static voice if he could do anything else before he pulled off. "Yes, Mir can you find out where your last class is so Hammond can come pick you up after?" Miranda nodded hurriedly trying to run away from the black stretched car.

"Mom, you're embarrassing me!" Miranda said noticing a blonde and brunette walking confidently on to campus. Why were they here? Miranda made sure she showed up early so no one would see her. "I'm growing up."

"But you still like cookies, right?" Grace asked hopefully.

"Yes, Mom," she sighed giving up. "I still like cookies." Her mother squealed happily.

"Yay!" Miranda rolled her eyes as her mother's voice became hard. "Hammond, drive!"

Miranda looked up at the large school before blowing a piece of her short black bangs out of her hazel eyes and marching forward.

She waited in the bathroom for the bell to ring only to miss it because her book bag fell open, its contents spilling on the floor. After hastily cleaning it up she ran to her advanced Algebra class.

"Hello?" she asked out of breath once she was inside.

"Um, hi?" The teacher said, eyebrows arched. "Who are you?"

"Miranda Yale." She said pointedly. "The new student?"

"I don't recall getting a new student assigned to me..." While the teacher looked through the papers on his desk Miranda looked at the room impatiently. _Why is a picture of George Washington on-_she was in the wrong class. This was history, she was Algebra I.

"Sorry," Miranda blushed "I'm in the wrong…..this isn't my….bye." she bolted out of the room, feeling the need to hold back tears. By doing so her eyes became a blurry mush of nothing which is why she didn't see the person she ran into. Her book bag collapsed for what was the second time that day.

She landed flat on her back while the boy she hit fell on his butt with a smack. She rubbed the back of her head while sitting up.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized.

"Yeah, you should be, bi…" She looked up at him sharply, her hazel glare turning him to stone. He paused taking in her face as she did the same. _Well, you're hot_._ Too bad you're a dick._ Miranda thought before scoffing at his rudeness and gathering some of her books.

He had dark brown hair which would've passed as black in any other lighting and his brown eyes shinned as his lips turned into a smile with perfect dimples. "I mean, I'm sorry too." He offered her a tan hand once he stood up which she refused.

Once she stood she scowled at his height. She was already short for her age so the fact he was the size of an oak tree made him even more despicable. "So what's your name? You new?"

"You care?" she asked mocking his tone and walking down the hallway trying to elude him. He dashed in front of her and placed his hands on her shoulders which she quickly shook off.

"Look, I'm sorry I was-."

"Shut up." Miranda quipped looking down the hall way. "Do you know where room 345 is?"

"So you _are_ new." He said smugly. She waited for him to say more, hopefully directions but when he didn't she yelled with fake enthusiasm,

"Oh, it has a brain!" He glared at her. "Let's see if it can point me down the hall!"

"What's up with you? _You_ bumped into _me_ remember?"

"Order of chronology is not amusing right now."

"What?"

"I take back that brain comment." She said annoyed "I'll find it on my own." She skirted around him and walked away. He still followed.

"I'll have you know I'm state identified." _Cute _and _smart?_ Miranda thought. _Well, that's just not fair. If he's an athlete or something to finish the cliché, I'm gonna scream._ "Top of my class by the way."

"Interesting." She said in a sarcastic tone. "Room 345?"

"Down the hall. It's my homeroom this year so I was just going there."

"Joy." _Nice to know I'm sharing my homeroom with him._ He led her down the hall. After a few moments of silence he stuck his hands in his pockets and asked,

"You gotta name, new girl?"

"Occupation?" she asked

"Soccer team." He said obediently. Miranda held her scream back in her throat.

"So, name new girl?" She huffed, turned to him and said,

"Miranda Yale."

"Derik Ray." He smiled, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."

* * *

Yolanda Parker sat in the middle of all the Raiders as she did every day since the cheerleading group was assembled. Now that she was in eighth grade she qualified for the junior varsity group which meant she could cheer at high school games. _I am _so_ gonna kick Brooke's ass_. She thought.

"Landa!" Bree yelled beside her at the lunch table holding her V8 Fusion juice. Yolanda looked at her friend to see her blue eyes had turned into saucers.

"What?"

"Have you seen the new girl?" she asked skeptically. But Bree already knew the answer. They were only having this conversation for show. No one else knew Yolanda and Bree had snuck in early to see the new girl get dropped off by a limo. After that they broke into the school's cabinets and looked at her file.

Then they looked up her parents. Her father was the owner of _Orange_, the electronic company that made everything but better. And her mother had opened up a clothing line when she was eighteen only to have it turn into the _best_ clothing shop in the world where all the Raiders bought their clothes (when they could afford it).

Now the Raiders were quiet, ready to hear what Yolanda had to say about the new girl and tell them whether she was hot or not.

"Yeah," Yolanda shrugged nonchalantly. "She walked into homeroom with my _boyfriend_ is all." The Raiders gasped and leaned in wanting to hear more.

"What?" Bree exclaimed, pretending she had no idea what Yolanda was talking about. The whole red round table was hooked, waiting for more. Well, except for Brooke.

"I thought we were gonna add her to our group." Brooke shrugged, sipping her juice. "Maybe even let her audition for the Raiders. I mean, she's pretty enough." Yolanda sat annoyed knowing that if there was one person who could control the school at least a percent more than her it was Brooke. The nodding heads at the table was proof enough.

"Brooke!" Yolanda scathed. "She walked into homeroom with _my boyfriend_. Put yourself in my shoes!"

"Oh, why must it always be about _you_, Landa?"

"It's not!" Yolanda blinked. "This is about a new girl trying to steal my guy. And after that she'll aim for my popularity, my life. She could turn us all into losers!" The Raiders gasped and turned to Brooke to see how she would reply.

"So let me get this straight," Yolanda gulped. "She ran into the wrong homeroom, embarrassed herself by thinking she could have _Derik Ray_ of all people, and tried to steal your life?"

"Is this supposed to be making me feel better? 'Cause it's not."

"It would if you had access to the school newspaper and got an A in yellow journalism." Bree smirked. Brooke, Bree and Yolanda smiled in agreement and the rest of the Raiders waited to be handed instructions.

"Let the games begin."

**AN: Well, this was long and pretty uneventfully but I do promise it'll get better. I have a lot of ideas for this story but if it's not good could you please tell me in a review? And I know you're probably thinking when are they gonna get their powers but this was just a prologue so I wanted to see if it was good before I actually started the story. Besides I haven't even revealed the other two characters that make up M.Y.T.H.S. but I really don't wanna start until I know if it's even good. So review please?**


	2. 1: How It All Started

**M.Y.T.H.S.**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 1: How it All Started**

"Therefore," Katherine Burgess bellowed in the facsimile courtroom. "I submit to the court that Ms. Dellio, after recently becoming a widow and losing her child, should not suffer through and more traumatic encounters, much less _jail_!"

"Ms. Burgess," Hailey Barnes countered, "I feel that you're getting too involved with the client's needs in this case and you have no authority to do so. Yes, Ms. Dellio has right to file against Hasbro toy company for the death of her daughter and, ultimatly, husband but we should not let this _opinion_ distract from the_ fact_ she assisted murder in the process!" Hailey opened her suitcase, ready to defend her client at any rate, do anything to stand up for what she believed was right and-.

"Your honor, may we have a recess to discuss the policy of assisted murder in the case?" Katherine asked, her wide innocent brown eyes pleading. Hailey rolled her eyes in annoyance and anger before leaning down on the table to talk to her own "client".

"What? Did the bitch not study her own damn affidavit?" Hailey asked. Her client/best friend smiled up at her hopefully.

"She's breaking!" Nila beamed. Hailey smiled back before fist bumping and turning back around to the judge.

"Your honor, she's clearly just trying to stall for her client! We all know fairly well that a _precise_ lawyer would have the brilliancy to know the policies of murder, much less assisted!"

"Hailey, I think I'll allow it noting how were not in _actual_ court." Brian said rolling his own eyes. "You do know we're not in actual court, right?" He stood and walked off his podium to speak with members of the jury. Hailey huffed before whipping back around to face her friend.

"Can you _believe_ him?" Nila asked, standing from her chair and crossing her shoulders above her chest.

"I know, right?" Hailey whispered back, finally happy someone noticed Brian's rudeness to her specifically. "He's never like me, or even pretended to. I've supported all my facts, backed up every detail of evidence and still he fails to recognize my potential."

"Maybe," another voice rang behind them, "And I mean maybe, it's because you two fail to have a life outside of Mock Trial?" Mila, Nila's twin sister asked. She was stepping off the jury stand and positioning herself in front of the two.

Hailey had been friends with Mila and Nila since pre-school and even though Mila was great, Nila seemed to agree with her more so Hailey tended to talk to Nila more.

"We have lives!" Nila insisted

"No, dear sister, _we_ have lives. Hailey here's too busy studying exhibits and quoting affibatits to have fun."

"It's _affidavits_!" Hailey pointed out. Mila glared.

"That's it, you need us. Mall, movie, sleepover Friday at our place!" Mila sing-songed.

"What about next Tuesday, huh? I have to find more flaws in this case and, it's just…Nevermind."

"Oh, come on, what is it Hay?"

"Yeah, what's on your abnormally big mind?" Hailey placed a strand of stiff straight red hair behind her ear.

"Brian! No matter how hard I try I always do something wrong! When he's the judge I _never_ win a case. That imp's got something against me."

"See, this is what I mean. Who says words like 'imp'?" Mi-mi mumbled. They ignored the tan girl.

"Well, I overheard Jake say he might still be buggn' from, well, ya know…" Ni suggested, biting her nail.

"The divorce?" Mi asked referring to his parents.

"The break-up?" Hailey asked referring to his ex-girlfriend, Katherine.

"The Lewis-Travis case." Ni resulted. The other too nodded, it all suddenly made sense. "Jake said that Tony said he heard Brian say he was so mad Travis lost, he'd never let you or Myrin win a case again." Hailey gasped.

"I object!" she screamed it so loud the Mock Trial counselor looked over in concern. She shrugged an apology in return. "That goes against all that I've worked for and I will not let him ruin my application recommendation for Debate Camp this summer."

"Calm it, Hay, the school year just started." Mi reminded

"Yeah, let Jake and Tony do their best friend magic that works so well for boys and it'll blow over before ya know it." Ni resulted

"Guys, that case was _two years ago_. Any chance I have now of saving my future is gone!" Hailey sulked as her two best friends watched Brian joke around with his friends, his sandy blonde hair shaking as he laughed at a joke.

"Hay?" Mi asked without removing her dark brown eyes from the boy.

"What?" Hailey dragged.

"Remember that Halloween dance at the beginning of sixth grade?"

"What about it?"

"I just thought about how Brian kept asking you to dance and you turned him down over and over and over-."

"What's your point Mi?" Hailey asked slightly tired and annoyed.

"If you convinced Brian that you like him, he'd let you win a case resulting in the oh-so-grand letter of recommendation leading to your happily ever after." Hailey looked up from her ratty sneakers, a faint smile across her face.

"You just might be on to something." Ni looked back and forth between her friend and sister, bewildered.

"Wait, no one cares how Brian's going to feel after he gets played?"

"Who says he has to find out?" Mi countered. Ni turned to her friend desperate to find a trace of humanity.

"You're really gonna do this?"

"I'll do anything to stop this treason." Hailey said profusely. "And if faking my way to the top is my only way, I'm taking it."

"But you can't." Ni said, and then felt the need to remind her. "It's wrong. You do know what that means, right? What if you lose?"

"Well, then I guess he'll be defending himself for once." Hailey quipped, her smile now on full force. "And may I remind you, I've only lost a case when _he's_ the judge."

"Five minute recess is over!" Brian's voice echoed across the room. Following tradition, Hailey and Nila quickly and quietly went back to their seats and lost the case.

* * *

"But he was supposed to love _me_!" Tayler Clayton screamed, tears running down her face. Her best friend Alex rushed over to wipe them and said something she couldn't hear. "What about me? Doesn't anyone care about me?"

He said something else.

"What about me?" she sang. "Who gonna be there for me?"

Alex began to sing with her, his hand coming down to grab hers.

"It's going to be okay. It is-."

"**STUPID**!"

"CUT!" Mr. Jay, the director of the play, yelled. Everyone looked around for the source of the noise to interrupt their production whenever Tayler spotted her. It was Yolanda, her brown wavy hair swishing behind her as she strutted in front of the camera man shouting. Tayler marched up behind her before tapping her shoulder impatiently.

"I was talking!" Yolanda snapped

"Really? I was acting and singing. I guess we _both_ lost our only talents on the main rise." Yolanda gave her a sneer which Tayler quickly returned. She wasn't afraid of her. "You can't randomly interrupt a class expecting us to stop just because you wanna scream while we're blocking." Yolanda narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"What does this have to do with shapes?"

"No, idiot, blocking is…forget, what do you want?"

"KameraKez." Tayler rolled her eyes at the Raiders term for the camera room for the school newspaper. "Back room to the right, rack nine slot four." Yolanda smiled and nodded thanks before running off. Tayler rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Yeah, just make sure Bree returns them before school's over!"

"Kay-kay!" Yolanda called back. Tayler returned to her friends Alex, Jade and Rainy on stage only to realize they were moving to the professional auditorium on the other side of campus.

"Nice blocking." Rainy commented while walking/wobbling in her high heels. She got shorter every year it seemed and Rainy couldn't stand it.

"Couldn't have done it without my girl." Alex smiled wrapping an arm on Tayler's exposed brown shoulders.

"Remove the limb or I'll do it for you."

"Sorry." He said. "Bad mood?" Jade answered for her.

"Yes, and its name is Yolanda. Must she always give me that feeling that she's up to no good?"

"Yes, because _you're_ always right, Jade." Rainy said rolling her eyes.

"I think the same thing. It's just this…feeling" Tayler nodded. Alex once again attempted to wrap an arm around her.

"I get that too."

"If you touch me I'll neuter you with a wrench."

"Oh, hell no."

* * *

Selena Lair was worn out. After a long day at school with all the weird looks and silent judgment dashed at her, she really didn't feel like homework, but that's exactly what she did. She was waiting for her mother to come home from job searching when she found the book.

Selena was in the middle of an English 1 assignment when she realized she needed a dictionary to complete the next section. She needed a book; the one under the cookie jar looked the part. She reached over the china cabinet before sliding it her way and having it tumble open on the floor.

She was expecting boring words about a boring person who had made a boring rule about boring conjunctions. What she wasn't expecting was a picture of her.

Well, not so much as a picture, but a drawing. She wasn't smiling in the drawing, she wasn't even looking forward. She was sitting on a…rock maybe? And her hair was braided into two pony tails that flew behind her in the wind. Oh, and there was the wings. In the drawing she had wings.

Now, her first thought was, _I didn't know Mom drew._ Which changed to _Wait, does Mom even have the _patience_ to draw?_ But when she saw the writing underneath, listing things about how _the wings of a guardian are gently crafted out of dragon scales_. She immediately flipped to the beginning and read.

_Table of Contents: The Heart of Kandrakar, The Meanings of Being a Guardian…_

_Who the hell wrote _this_?_ Selena thought searching for a title page. Nothing, no author, publisher, editor, nothing. While it was true everything in the book could've just been some stupid prank or false, Selena read it anyways because it was also true that a rule book to being a "Guardian of the Veil" was way cooler than English 1 homework.

Hours later, Selena was obsessed. That was the only way to describe her hunger for chapter after chapter. How to activate your powers, how to fly, how to be…_amazing_. Selena smiled as she flipped a page and saw the next chapter was about her.

_Selena Magenta Lair_

_Appearance: Medium length brown hair, small features, blue eyes._

_Main Power: Air_

While Air didn't seem like the most amazing power there was, at least it was something. It was cool and bizarre at the same time. After reading her chapter, Selena found that the next chapter was about another girl. And Selena became delighted when she recognized the face on the drawing. While it was extremely weird to see her in Selena's new favorite book, she knew what she had to do: confront her.

* * *

Miranda didn't know what it was, but Derik had officially felt the need to get to know the new girl. At first it was the little things. He'd say 'hey' when they pasted in the hallways, gave her answers to a history paper and helped her get a book from the top shelf in the library.

_Damn his height_. Miranda thought at the memory. But after that, things got a little more intense, day by day. He'd walk with her to class, never saying much, just being…_there_. He'd make sure she knew where everything was located and where to and not to sit in the cafeteria. And while Miranda at first found their new relationship stalkerish and a never-turning-into-friendship-relationship (which was known by both) she did enjoy the company.

It had been awhile since anyone other than her family had shown some kindness. She had only been in public school since age eleven and since then, she'd only stayed at a school for months due to moving, marketing, or bullying. Nobody liked a rich girl, apparently.

Nevertheless, she was glad that while she and Derik didn't have a _real_ talking connection, they still had one. She didn't expect many friends, as the new girl was usually a temporary placement and most of the kids who did want to speak to the new kid waited long enough to see if they were actually there to stay.

But Selena Lair wasn't like that.

She met Selena on her fifth day of school.

She was small but not as small as Miranda, no one was. She had cinnamon locks that curled just past her shoulders, her clothes were mitch-matched and on her head, was a bright and stunning pink band holding back her hair.

"Um, hi." Miranda said whenever Selena cornered her in the empty classroom. Miranda had left her book. Or at least she thought she had until she spied it sticking out of Selena's book bag. "I'm-" She was planning to say she was looking for her book but Selena interupted with,

"Miranda Wesley Yale." Selena spoke fast and shy, trying to force out the words before she lost her courage. "You're rich, your mom's a fashion designer and your father is the creator of Orange Co. but you don't want anyone to know."

"Uh-."

"I'm not a stalker." Selena speed-talked again. "It's just, well, there's this book." Selena whipped out the old, torn golden brown book and opened it to a certain page before showing her. "It has everything about you and I found it. Basically, the only thing I _don't_ know concerning you right now is the color of your underwear." Selena checked the book. "No, I know that too. Superman plaid. And yes, the movie Avengers _was_ awesome." Miranda stared with a raised eyebrow at the shaking girl, wondering what to do next.

"I only wanted my book-."

"You're different. You can feel it, right?" Miranda was now just spooked out. She didn't care about the book anymore, she only cared about getting out. "How you think everyone has this brain that have the wires connected and fate somehow just accidentally crossed yours? You think that you never see your dad enough, and that your mom's cookies-will-make-everything-better attitude is just barely tolerable." Miranda turned.

"How did you know all that?"

"This book. It has everything about you. And me." Miranda tried to take it from her and see for herself but Selena wasn't budging.

"Well, why?" Selena searched for the right words to say but ultimately just gave up.

"You're a witch, Miranda."

**AN: Thanks you guys, SO MUCH for the positive feedback. And as I was uploading this, I realised it's only been ten days since I uploaded the Preface (This is a big thing for me, due to the fact I procrastinate... a lot) so I would like to state _I AM ON_**_ FIRE!_

Cows111: Thank you so much for your review and I love your penname, by the way. :)

Val Marsal: Thanks! I'm really glad you liked it, as I imagined a _lot_ of drama in this story, lol.

DayDreamer9: Wow, thank you! I officially feel like I made someones day at least a percent brighter.

_- Wynn-J_


	3. 2: The Cookie Jar

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 2: The Cookie Jar**

* * *

"I'm a what?" She asked, knowing she hadn't heard correctly. True, Selena had _looked_ crazy but Miranda had tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Un-matching clothes could be a new style here in New York, so could weird hairstyles. And…okay, Miranda had nothing to say for that headband. It was so distracting…

"…In order to work." Selena was saying. Miranda shook her head as if to shift her attention back to the weird girl in front of her.

"I'm sorry, excuse me?"

"There are other planets and universes out there filled with people who know about us, yet haven't had our advanced technology."

"Wait, so we're talking about aliens now?" Miranda asked. Selena rolled her eyes, now also frustrated.

"No, we need to save them!"

"Save who?" Miranda asked confusedly. "The aliens?"

"No, you- yes. Yes, we need to save the aliens." Selena sighed rolling her eyes. Miranda placed a hand on her hip.

"Hey, don't go catching an attitude; _you're_ the crazy one trying to save aliens." Selena huffed and forced herself to open the book. She didn't want anyone to look at it, afraid they might take it away. She knew her mom would, why else would she have hidden it? But then again, under the cookie jar wasn't much of a secret hideout. Maybe it was because Selena stopped eating cookies after an incident in sixth grade when kids circled around her calling her fat.

_No, stop it._ Selena thought. _That's over now._

"This is it." Selena said showing Miranda the chapter about herself. "_Miranda Wesley Yale_. It's you, I recognized you from the picture." The picture _did_ look like her. It looked as if it were drawn with a dark ash, making her eyes seem bigger and her hair longer.

Miranda held the book closer.

"It _does_ look like me in a way."

"Totally." Miranda was spooked and confused and a twinge of excitement glowed in her. Not that she was the one to believe in witches (or _guardians_ according to the book) but it would be awesome if she could do all the things the book said she could (even though she had no idea what _quintessence_ was). "There are five us; you know; the guardians." Selena explained.

"Who are the others?" Miranda asked curiously, ripping her eyes from the interesting page. Selena gently took the large book out of her hands and flipped the pages.

"See, here's the thing. The book only tells you certain things. Like, half the chapters in the table of contents aren't even in here. Whenever you flip to the page-." Selena demonstrated by flipping to the chapter where the next guardian was supposed to be. "It's blank."

"Well, how do we _un_blank it?" Miranda asked looking at the page determinedly.

"It says in the beginning that any page of the book can be added or revealed by waving the…" Selena looked for how to pronounce the word. "Heart of Kandrakar over it."

"What the f is that?" Miranda asked. It seemed as if she was asking all the questions. Selena knew so much Miranda figured she studied the book all night trying to learn it.

"It's a stone." Selena showed Miranda a picture of the delicate, spherical pink stone that hung on a thread. "If we find it, it's supposed to extract our powers."

"How do we find it?" Selena shook her head.

"No, _we_ don't find _it_. _It_ finds _us_." Miranda was certain now that Selena was at least half mental and she probably shouldn't be taking any of this "witch saving aliens" thing to heart but she had a friend, and _that_ was what Miranda wanted to find.

* * *

Miranda and Derik's relationship could only be defined as one thing: weird. They weren't friends but they weren't strangers. They would talk randomly but if the others name was brought up in conversation they'd act like they'd never heard of the other. But of course Selena would point something out.

The whole weird witch thing was a week ago and now the two had begun the search for the heart. They were discussing it quietly in the library during recess, as they thought going outside was not only stupid but too public.

"How can we find the key to this stupid thing if we don't even know where to look?" Miranda asked agitatedly.

"No, we don't-"

"Yeah, I know, I know," Miranda rolled her eyes while flipping through the book looking for a clue. "We don't find it, it finds us." Miranda read more about it in the Heart of Kandrakar chapter.

_While the stone's dominant color is pink, it is known to change color with each owner. The heart takes a specific likeness to a necklace to fit into our world._ Miranda rolled her eyes. "'Our world', like a necklace wouldn't fit in in any of those other stupid worlds in this stupid book."

"Meridian." Selena interrupted, flipping through notes she wrote trying to see if she could crack the code herself.

"What?"

"The other world- it's Meridian. The rulers have been known to become complete control freaks. The last ruler, Elyon, was assassinated and so far the kingdom is run by the rebel leaders."

"So what's the problem? The people got what they want; their leaders are in charge now."

"Not exactly." Selena corrected. "There's a rebellion against the rebellion. The leaders have gotten their taste in power and are afraid of sharing their wealth with the land." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Well, you have to admit, it was a stupid idea." Selena looked up, now being confused. _Yes!_ Miranda thought _Not so fun, being in the dark, now is it?_

"What do you mean?"

"Having one ruler dictate the _whole world_? That's a Hitler rebirth in the making, It's stupid." Selena looked at Miranda, her face still having a trace of misunderstanding before letting it go and leaving the topic alone. "Ugh, this is so hard!" Miranda whined. "I want cookie dough ice cream and a long nap."

"Too bad, we have to save those people." Miranda scoffed.

"Really? You don't see any of _them_ rushing over to _our_ galaxy trying to save us from global warming or Canadian pop stars."

"Hey!" Selena joked "The Beibes is a miracle worker." Miranda laughed before jumping back to the previous topic.

"What's I this for you? Like I said, they don't try and help us. Why do you even care about this so much?" Selena shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess it's because everybody else who gets the power like we have misuses it. They always become power drunk or use it to make others feel bad." Selena looked back down at her notes. "It sucks being the little guy." Miranda looked back at the book and remained quiet for a moment before trying to enlighten the mood.

"Okay, so we're trying to look for my heart, where's yours? Got a secret lover maybe?" Miranda nudged Selena repeatedly causing her to smile.

"Yeah, Mir, everyone wants the poor girl whose clothes look like Good Will give aways." Miranda was about to testify, saying that Selena was actually pretty awesome once you got to know her but she never got the chance. "But I know who likes you." Miranda raised an eyebrow. "_Derik Ray!_" Selena said mocking the Raiders valley girl tone that they used whenever they said his name. "Isn't he like, _gorgeous_? And why Derik Ray; what's wrong with just saying Derik?"

"The point won't get across." Derik smirked behind them. The two girls jumped and blushed. "What you ladies up to?" They both slammed their studies closed with a boom.

"Nothing." Miranda said casually turning to look back at him. "What are _you_ doing eavesdropping?" Derik scoffed and pulled up a chair next to her.

"Please, like you don't want me here."

"See, that's the thing: _I don't_." Selena looked back and forth between the two, smiling. Miranda gave her an annoyed look.

_I don't like him._ Selena looked back amused.

_Don't lie to me._ Derik looked back and forth between the two, wondering what was going on between them.

"I'm Selena." She said after an awkward pause.

"Derik." He nodded.

"I'm gonna just…leave you two alone. There's a book I wanted to…check out…over there." Miranda gave Selena a pointed look to which she responded. "We can talk about our…project later. My house at four?" she didn't wait for an answer. "Cool."

Selena dashed off to another direction trying not to be seen but so she could hear.

"Excuse her," Miranda said "She's a little…awkward." Derik smiled.

"Well, so are you." Miranda nodded and gave him a look as if to say 'What do you want?' "My table's getting a little stuffy. Too many people trying to see what's going on and _who's_ going on I just wanted to know if I could sit with you guys today." Selena and Miranda had sat at an off table on the other side of the lawn.

"Well, I don't think-"

"_**A-HEM**_!" Selena coughed loudly from a couch on the other side of the room. "Oh, sorry to interrupt. Too bad we don't have someone to sit at our lunch table to keep me from talking!" Miranda looked down awkwardly before meeting his dark brown eyes.

"Sure. What the hell, right?"

Derik wasn't wrong, his table did look crowded over by the crew and he seemed happy to get away from it all. The three at first had nothing to say and sat there simply staring at each other. That is, until Selena made a joke about how 'popular people like Derik' must think walking to school in slow motion and flipping their hair at all the _wrong_ moments make life more entertaining.

"Sometimes I just wanna get ahold of Brooke and tell her if she whips her head back like that again it's going to fly off."

After that Derik kept sitting there more and more and with each day, more and more people started to notice the popular boy sitting at a table with "Smellena" and the new girl. But it didn't matter because lunch was the only time they could crack dirty jokes and laugh loud just to annoy people.

Or at least, it didn't matter until Miranda was jerked into the bathroom hallway after lunch.

The people who grabbed her turned out to be Raiders, all wearing their cheering uniform and glaring at her. She didn't know any of their names but she recognized Yolanda. She was the tallest and her brown hair was perfectly bouncy. She flipped it back only reminding Miranda of Selena's comment earlier in the week making her laugh.

"Something funny, bitch?" Yolanda asked

"Uh, yeah, actually." The Raiders gasped as if talking back was a sin never to be broken. Yolanda just glared harder.

"I'll jump to the chase."

"That would be appreciated, yes." Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Here at Sheffield, we have a school newspaper that comes out two times every week. We're starting it Monday."

"So what? You pulled me in here to ask for an interview or something?"

"No, bitch, shut up, I'm talking! Jesus!" Miranda quieted down. "Bree, show her the paper." A tall girl with long blonde hair and pretty blue eyes shoved a thick collection of paper into Miranda's hands with a sneer. "Read it."

_Miranda Yale: New Girl Freak_

_The new student Miranda Yale not only has an ify background of shifting schools, but is the daughter of _Henry _and_ Grace Yale_. That's right, she's the only daughter of the most accomplished people in the world…so how the hell did _she_ get so screwed up?_

_Not only does she walk into the wrong classrooms, but she walks into _Derik Ray_. She's also a complete whore due to the fact she tried to get into his pants after five seconds of meeting him. Will this girl succeed in ruining her life before it even begins…_

Miranda didn't want to read on, but she did want to punch every single Raider in the face.

"I never did any of this stuff! Not intentionally, not ever!"

"Oh, we know, but we want everyone to think you did." Yolanda simplified. Miranda scrunched her eyes in confusion. What was it with these girls? Miranda could see why Selena felt the way she did. The populars sucked ass.

"Why?"

"Because you tried to steal my boyfriend!" Yolanda screamed, arms crossed. "But it didn't work, he's completely hooked."

"So why does it matter?"

"Because, despite all my efforts of exposing you as the weirdo you are, he actually _likes_ you for some reason. And now you've got him thinking he can sit with you and Smellena at lunch? No way!"

"What do you want?" Miranda bellowed, stepping forward to face Yolanda, face to...shoulder. _Damn her height._

"A deal." Yolanda smiled "If I _ever_ catch you with Derik again, this newspaper gets in every eighth graders desk by the next school day."

"Fine." Miranda nodded

"Nice choice." Yolanda smiled, nodded and the Raiders began to clear out. But before any of them left, Yolanda stopped to ask,

"Are you seriously that short or am I just tall?" she seemed to be asking seriously and none of the Raiders were in there to laugh with her.

Miranda just rolled her eyes.

* * *

"Well, no worries, you can fix it later." Selena declared once they were at her home after school. Her mother was job hunting again and Selena found this her only time to look and see if the heart was in her house.

"And how do you suppose that?" Miranda asked looking in a cabinet.

"You're the keeper of the heart, you _should_ be able to do anything. Or at least, _almost_ anything." Miranda smiled before searching back in the cabinet, pushing back cobwebs and shrinking back when she thought she saw a spider. "I can't believe she told you not to talk to Derik. I was about to make Mir-ik T-Shirts."

"Mir-ik?"

"Miranda and Derik, duh." Miranda rolled her eyes and went back to her search. "She's such a bitch."

"Oh, Selena! Watch your language!" Miranda joked.

"Says the potty mouth of the century." They were quiet for a moment, both lost in trying to find something that probably wasn't even supposed to be found yet.

"Hey, where did you find the book anyways?"

"On the china cabinet under the cookie jar," Selena nodded her head towards the big glass and wooden case. "Why?" Miranda cast Selena an evil glance.

"And nothing in your brain registered you to actually _look_ in the cookie jar?" Selena looked back at her friend, her face guilty.

Miranda scowled, took the step ladder and climbed to the top of the cabinet and she didn't even have to open the jar.

The necklace floated up, pushed the top of and fell into her hand. Miranda looked in shock. _So this isn't some joke._ She thought. _This is real now._

Selena smiled up and the short, black haired beauty.

"Whenever I turn this into a fictional story or something, I'm gonna make sure it looks like we _both_ found the heart, okay?"

**AN: Thank you guys for reading Chapter 2 of this story. As you could assume this chapter was mostly about the M in MYTHS. On my profile I'll have a mini-biography in case I'm not able to tell all in this story about all the girls in MYTH.**

**Now, A thank you to my reviewers!**

_Brimo: _I would like to congratulate myself for the no-late uploading. I'm really just doing this to distract from all the stuff I'm supposed to be doing…

_Val Marsal_: Thank you for your comment! But what exactly do you mean by "put up the rest of WITCH"?

_DayDreamer9_: Thank you so much for your comment! And yes, the spelling errors were due to my laziness and no doubt there are some in here as well as I'm uploading this at a time when I'm usually ready to have some hot chocolate and sleep my butt off. :p

_- Wynn-J_


	4. 3 Stupid Dogs & Stereotypes

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 3: **_Stupid Dogs and Stereotypes_

**AN: Okay, sorry for putting the Authors Note at the beginning but I just wanted to say two things: one- another quick update! I am official the awesomest person I know. And two- I **_**haven't**_** updated my other Fictionpress story so I should probably start working on that. Please check me out and PM me what you think of my original stories Wynn-J on Fictionpress . Com.**

* * *

Selena Lair took a deep breath in anticipation. _This is it_. She thought. _This is the moment I'll look back on for the rest of my life._ Miranda smiled as she took out the book and opened it on the counter top in Selena's kitchen. She looked at the pink-ish red-ish heart and before placing it over the next blank page, looked over to Selena for an extra push.

Instead she was met with a thirteen-year-old holding her breath and turning a bright shade of red.

"Hey, Selena! Breathe!" Selena nodded with a smile and let out her breath. The air blew throughout the whole house ruffling Miranda's hair and shaking the furniture. Miranda's eyes widened and Selena shrugged apologetically.

"The other day I sneezed the door off my closet." Was her only comment before starring back at the book contently. "Come on! Do it!" Miranda got a mind full of courage and placed the heart over the page.

Slowly, the picture came, this one of more than just one girl. The faint words at the top read _The Five Guardians in Human Form_ and Selena and Miranda's eyes widened, eager to see the other three girls.

It showed up as a picture, not a drawing this time. The background looked like a beach, with water behind them.

There was the faint outline of Selena, her arms up around a figure next to her and a smile on her face. Her hair was in two braided pony tails and she was wearing well, something Selena would _never_ wear. For one, it was in style. Then beside her was Miranda, her black hair pulled back into a messy high pony tail and her bangs whipping in the wind. She had her cheeks puffed out, trying to make a funny face at the camera.

Next was red. That's what they saw first. It turned into red hair and they got sight of small blue eyes. Then freckles.

And then the front door creaked open.

Selena's attention slapped away from the slow adapting photo and slammed the book shut, grabbing the heart and a protesting Miranda's hand.

"What are you _doing_?"

"My mom's home!" Selena whisper-yelled, tugging the small girl into the hallway and ultimately her small room.

"That's cool, I've never met your mom." Miranda commented. "But why are we hiding?"

"She can't know." Miranda looked at her friend confused. "She'd take it away. That's the way my mom is, okay? I know her. She's over-bearing, protective and if she found out I was destined to save not only our world but others in a completely different galaxy, she'd freak."

"Okay, who's to say your mom won't think it's some kind of fiction book?" Miranda asked, slipping on the necklace and tucking it under her shirt.

"Yeah, right. Because my mother- who didn't even let me go to my first two days of kindergarten- would be okay with my leaving of the galaxy for the weekend." Selena searched for a place to hide her book when her door opened and her mother walked in.

"Selena, would you mind taking out the trash- oh, who's this?" Selena subtly hid the book behind her back and with her free hand, motioned to Miranda."

"This is Miranda Yale. She's new at Sheffield." A look flashed across Irma Lair's face before she snapped back to reality and nodded.

"It's nice to meet you, Miranda."

"You too, Ms. Lair." Irma plastered on a fake smile before nodding towards her daughter.

"What you reading?" she asked tightly. Selena hid her shock, as the book was not in any angle for her mom to see. She shrugged and hugged the book to her chest.

"It's nothing really. I found it at the library and checked it out. It's pretty interesting."

"Really?" Irma asked. "Can I see it?" Miranda's eyes widened and she looked to Selena to see how she would reply.

"Um," Selena knew she couldn't hide the truth from her mother forever. But she sure thought she'd be able to keep it a lot longer than this. She handed the book over without another word before looking to the ground, ready for disappointment.

She closed her eyes tightly and prayed that it wouldn't be as bad. That God would surprise her by making her mom completely okay with it. At least, that was until she heard,

"Why is it blank?" Selena's head snapped back up, her cinnamon brown hair sprawling. Miranda's eyes widened farther (Selena was sure they were going to fall out) and her mother shut the book and shrugged. "Whatever, maybe we just have different styles in books. Remember to turn that in on time, I can't pay for late fees." Her mother walked out of the room, waving a happy good bye to Miranda and closing the door.

"What. The. Hell."

* * *

Yolanda Parker's face burned red in anger as she pushed herself off her white bed and clawed through the canopy. She glared into the eyes of the small eight-year-old and scowled.

"I thought I _told_ you to stay out of my room, you little snot!" Small and sarcastic, Ellie Isolde raised a blond eyebrow before turning on her heel and walking across the grand room to the door.

"Fine. You don't want dinner, I'll tell Dad you're being mean to Mom again." Yolanda marched over to the door pulling her curly brown hair into a pony tail before snapping again.

"First off, he's not _your_ dad, he's mine; and second, she's _your_ mom and will _never_ be mine."

"Say what you want." Ellie said with a roll of her eyes while marching down the spiral stair case. "The marriage certificate states we are now a family." She gave Yolanda a snarl. "Unfortunately."

Yolanda sat at the table shoveling the little of what was on her plate in her mouth before drowning it with V8 Fusion. Ellie cringed back in disgust, as once she had stolen on of her new sister's drinks and spilled it down the drain it was so nasty.

Danielle Parker cleared her throat and the silence only made it louder. Yolanda looked at her obnoxiously before sipping her juice again.

"So, Yolanda, what are your plans this weekend?" Danielle asked trying to connect with her step daughter. "I thought maybe we could go to the Halloween Fair Ellie's school is doing."

"I'm spending the night with Brooke and Bree." Yolanda said scraping her fork on her teeth as she took another bit of broccoli because she knew it was one of Danielle's pet peeves. "We're discussing new cheerleading techniques." _And what to wear to the Halloween dance next week, but you know. Details._

"I thought you hated Brooke."

"I do."

"Then why are you spending the night with her?"

"Because she's my friend." Yolanda said as if it should be obvious. David Parker pressed his fingers on the bridge of his nose, now having a migraine.

"So, you're friends with people you don't like? That doesn't make sense." Yolanda shook her head before looking down at her plate and muttering.

"My mom would've gotten it." No one heard it but Danielle who closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Yolanda, I really am sorry for the loss of your mother but believe me, I know what it feels like to lose someone you care about." Danielle took a deep breath as if she was about to tell them something she'd never said out loud before. Yolanda rolled her eyes as her step-mo_nster_ continued. "Once, when I was a little girl, I had a dog named-." Yolanda scoffed and looked up at her step-mother offended.

"Are you seriously comparing my deceased mother with your _dog_?" Yolanda said loudly. David reached a hand out to calm her down but instead Yolanda stood from the table and threw down her fork.

"Honey, clam down." He assured.

"No! I shouldn't have to calm down and I shouldn't sit here and pretend she's going to be living in this house for more than two months like all your other gold-digging sluts!"

"Eliza!" David scolded. Yolanda knew she had really messed up if her father called her by her first name which he only did when she was in serious trouble. But she didn't care.

Ellie sat at the table rolling her eyes at her step-sister's dramatics.

"Oh, don't _Eliza_ me when you know it's true." Yolanda stomped over to Danielle and yelled in her face. "I don't need another mom, okay! My first one was fine. And I certainly don't need to hear about your dumb _dog_. So how about this, the next time _your_ mother dies from giving birth, _then_ you can cry about losing something you love."

Yolanda ran back to the spiral stair case, marching up the marble steps. The table was quiet, nobody saying anything. Well, except Ellie who finished scraping the chicken off Yolanda's plate onto her own before sighing,

"Well, she's a little theatric, isn't she?"

* * *

The next day at school was rough. While Miranda thought nothing of the whole no-more-Derik situation, she didn't know it was going to be _this_ hard to stay away from him. When he sat down at their table for lunch again, Miranda narrowed her eyes and said, "I'm pretty sure your table is less cluttered now." And it was true, only few goofed around the soccer team player's table after their star had left.

"Well, I guess I like sitting over here more."

"Well, _I_ think it's weird." Miranda shrugged. Selena looked over at her friend, mentally trying to tell her to stop. "Since when to popular guys like _you_ hang with girls like us?"

"Stereotypes are stupid." Miranda nodded before looking over to Selena and putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, Lena, what was it you said Derik used to call you all the time?" Selena put down her lunch and stared awkwardly at her tray. Miranda knew she was going to get yelled at later for putting her in the middle of it but it was the only way she could think of to tell Derik he wasn't wanted. "You know, he came up with it that day whenever he and his friends did what again? Didn't they pour a whole bunch of, what was it, milk all over your hair?"

Miranda glared at Derik. "Oh yeah. Smellena." Derik was momentarily stunned at the sudden hostility before he looked over to Selena.

"You know how sorry I am about that, right? I didn't know how awesome you were then." Selena smiled.

"Thanks, Derik." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Oh, so now that she's finally found someone to be her friend your sorry."

"Miranda, I-."

"Be completely honest with me. If I never transferred to Sheffield, would you still be apologizing to her right now?" Derik didn't answer. "That's what I thought." Miranda picked up her tray and left, guilt screaming at her from the back of her mind.

As she walked past people sitting in the quad, their hair rose slightly, as if they'd dragged their feet across the floor and touched a door knob.

_Damn quintessence._ Selena thought quickly rising from her seat. Derik stood with her.

"Selena, really, I-."

"I know, Derik, she's just…having a hard time right now." Selena dashed off, jumping over the people lying down trying to catch up with her friend as Derik sat at the table alone.

Across the quad, Yolanda smiled.

* * *

"My mom's home today." Selena said as they walked home from school "I told her we'd stop at the library after school today so we could work on a project."

"But the libraries' closed." Miranda pointed out.

"Yeah, and we're not studying for a project either." Selena smiled pulling her friend across the street where they stood in front of a large Chinese restaurant.

"Why are we here exactly?" Miranda asked. Selena pulled out the book and opened it to a page where the exact same restaurant was drawn in a black ink.

"_The Silver Dragon, former Air Guardian's family restaurant_." Selena read. Miranda nodded.

"Oh, so we're doing a little field trip today?"

"At least I can afford this one. Well, if I don't order anything big." The two walked into the large restaurant and stood in the waiting room, waiting for someone to arrive at the desk.

A song played over head and Selena nodded her head to it while they waited. A tall, skinny woman with black eyes and hair piled up on her head in an elaborate style beamed at them.

"Hello, welcome to Silver Dragon." She smiled in a bubbly voice. Selena smiled back when she saw the name on the name tag.

"Hello, Ms. Hay Lin."

**AN: Lol, you guys have no idea how long I've waited to add Hay Lin in here! She was always my favorite…**

**Thank you guys so much for reading, as I have a **_**lot**_** of ideas about this story that keep getting messed up in my head. And if you guys haven't noticed, which I'm sure you actually **_**did**_**, I'm mainly focusing on three of the five girls in the beginning chapters.**

**And now, a huge thanks to all that reviewed! I don't have enough time to reply but thank you all SOO much!**


	5. 4: Separation Anxiety

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 4: Separation Anxiety**

* * *

**Sadly, I won't be able to update as much, as I must study for PSAT. Stupid tests…**

**No worries though, more to come after the school week is over. **

It seemed as if Hay Lin was more excited about the whole "New Guardians of The Veil" thing more than Selena was, and that's saying something. Hay Lin had taken them to her home above the Silver Dragon and began to run around, trying to find everything relating her own guardian days.

"We used to hang out at the Silver Dragon _all the time_." Hay Lin smiled throwing papers onto the table. "It was our hang out. Oh, and the alley between the Heatherfield book store and hair dresser, that was the first place we tested out our powers. It was _amazing_…" Miranda gave Selena a 'Should we tell her to stop talking?' look but it seemed Selena was in a daze, listening with rapped attention.

"Um, Ms. Lin?"

"Call me Hay Lin, everybody does." She said finally finding what she was looking for. "This is it!"

"What exactly is _it_?" Miranda asked skeptically.

"The map. It shows all the portals in your area of the globe. That's your job, to close them." Miranda nodded.

"Well, that's not so hard." Miranda shrugged. Hay Lin scoffed.

"Yeah, no, it's harder than the directions make it seem." Miranda nodded and twirled the heart with her fingers. She couldn't explain her new found love for the jewelry but she knew it managed to go with every outfit she put on since she got it. "So…where are the others?"

"Others?" Miranda asked "Oh, right, the guardians. We don't exactly know who they are yet." They explained to Hay Lin about the book and Selena's mom walking in on them before they could see the rest of the photo.

"Yeah, we kept our powers a secret form our parents too. It doesn't exactly say word for word you can't tell but it's definitely implied if you don't want to become a science experiment." Selena laughed.

"So, you're air too?"

"Duh, like any no-air guardian could rock this hard."

"What's it like to fly?"

"It's _awesome_. It's as if the whole world fades away and it's just you in the sky. Well, until Will runs into you, she was never that good at flying."

"Cool, what about-."

"GUYS!" Miranda snapped. The two looked at the small girl who was pointing to the book and gesturing with the heart.

"Oh, right, the photo." The three of them gathered around the withered book as Miranda lighted it with the heart.

It was the same, the beach back ground, Selena wearing a cuter outfit than necessary, Miranda making a funny face at the camera, her bangs blowing. Then the rest of them showed up.

"No way." Miranda said horrified.

"This is so ironic." Selena muttered causing her to get a fierce glare from her friend. Hay Lin, completely oblivious, smiled and pointed to Yolanda who was holding her flip flops in the air and sticking her tongue out at the camera and said,

"Oh, she's pretty!"

* * *

Hailey Barnes slammed her locker closed and jumped back in surprise at the face behind it. Beaming in Mitch-matched clothing with her signature bright pink headband was Selena; book in her hands while Miranda stood glaring. Whenever Selena saw her frown she elbowed her in the arm, as she knew Miranda was still grumpy from finding out she had to work with Yolanda.

"Hello, Hailey." Selena smiled

"Um, hi Smell-I mean, Selena. Hi Selena." Selena pretended not to hear while Miranda glared harder at the red-headed wanna-be-attorney.

"On your way to Mock Trial, again?"

"Uh…yeah." Hailey looked at the clock on the wall before asking "Not to be rude, but _what is it you want_?"

"Saxicolous penultimate!" Miranda accused hostilely.

"Excuse me?" Hailey asked

"Ignore her." Selena said moving in front of her friend. Miranda stood on her tip toes trying to see above her but in the end she just moved around and continued to glare at Hailey, who glared back this time. "She's a little …inimical right now. We came to ask you if you'd like to, uh, join our club."

"Club?"

"Yeah, it's a, uh, public speaking-like-thingy. It's going to be really fun. You'll have all these new experiments and-."

"The field trips are _out of this world_." Miranda joked sarcastically. Hailey narrowed her eyes slightly at the short, black-haired beauty before shaking her head and giving a harsh no. Hailey strutted down the hall. Miranda scoffed. "She's just mad her parents we're anti-ginger." Miranda commented pushing off the lockers.

"Miranda!" Selena scolded. Miranda put her hands up in surrender.

"Not like I'm blaming her personally, I'd be pretty pissed if my parents gave me up for adoption too."

"How do _you_ know that?" Hailey asked turning around. Miranda's eyes widened as she assumed Hailey had walked out of ear shot. Miranda had read it in the book but it wasn't like she could just come out and say that without looking as wacko as Selena had appeared when she told Miranda the pattern on her underwear.

"I just…you know…know." Hailey was about too reply and Miranda had a feeling she wasn't going to know half the words that came out of her mouth anyways as girls like Hailey seemed to have vast vocabulary. Before a word could come out of the red-head's mouth Selena dragged Miranda away quickly, muttering a,

"Thank you for your time!"

* * *

"What the hell was _that_?" Selena asked Miranda at the table in the library. Miranda sulked in her seat a few more moments before answering her friend.

"She's just like every other person at the school, driven by stereotypes and what's worse is her clique is just as low as ours is. She doesn't have room to go around calling people sxicouls…"

"Saxicolous." Selena corrected.

"Yeah, that." Miranda "Who are we asking next?"

"Well, as punishment for your little outrage burst, which I think is due from separation anxiety-."

"I don't miss Derik." Miranda said dryly

"So you keep saying." Selena replied "As I was saying I think we should ask Yolanda next." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Please, you just don't want to face Tayler." Miranda said referring to Selena's old friend from elementary school who "ditched" her.

"Whether that is true or not-."

"True."

"I still think we should ask Yolanda first. But how…"

"I have an idea." Miranda smiled icily, her hazel eyes glowing.

* * *

Yolanda strutted down the hall holding yet another can of V8 on her way to lunch when two pairs of hands forcefully pulled her into the nearest bathroom and threw her on the floor.

"What's up, _bitch_?" Miranda asked mockingly. Yolanda looked up at her from the floor coldly.

"Take advantage of this moment, Miranda, this might be the only time you can tower over someone." Miranda's face flushed from embarrassment and anger and Yolanda's hair began to stand on edge. "Ugh." She said frustrated trying to pat it down. Selena stepped in front of Miranda once again and helped Yolanda off the floor.

As soon as she was up, Yolanda jumped back. "Don't touch me, Smellena, I'm in a mood." Miranda's face went back to its slightly pale color as she rolled her eyes.

"Oh, yes, because having a new step-mom is the end of the world." Yolanda looked at the small girl harshly.

"How did you know that?" Selena spoke up.

"Let's pretend she's not even here, okay?" she asked. "There's something we need to ask you. Kind of like a favor."

"Oh, yeah, I'm just dying to help you guys out." Yolanda said lying back on the wall and crossing her arms. She opened up her bottle and began to drink from it.

"It's not something bad or anything." Selena assured. "We just need you to join our club." Yolanda almost did a spit take.

"_You_ want _me_ to join some stupid little club?" Yolanda asked unbelievably. She barely had time for it even if she wanted to. She had to find a way to kick Brook out of the Raiders Cheer captain spot and manage to get into JV cheerleading.

Selena, not seeing any other way, opened up the book to the chapter about Yolanda.

"It's all about you. Well, you and _us_. There are these people who need help and we're the only ones who can." Selena summarized. Yolanda looked at the drawing of herself. With wings. _Stalker alert_. She thought.

"You're weirder than I thought." Yolanda said disgusted. "Just wait until everyone hears about this. Smellena the Stalker can draw you in a book _and_ figure out if your parents are remarried. Weirdo." Miranda's eyes flared a vibrant color of red before she spoke.

"Will you just _shut up_?" her voice boomed thought the bathroom and shook the walls before all the lights in the restroom turned off.

"Oh, my God." Yolanda breathed before the lights came back on. Miranda's eyes had turned back to their regular color but her anger was still there.

"Look, either you're in, or you're out, bitch. Doesn't get simpler than that." Yolanda thought. _I would be able to make sure she stays away from Derik. And nobody really has to _know _that I'm hanging out with them._ But then she thought of something else. She was only going to join if…

"I'm in." Yolanda said weakly. Selena and Miranda looked at each other shocked. "But only if - and I mean it- you guys teach me how to do _that_." Selena smiled before patting her over-protective friend on the back.

"Separation anxiety." She commented before explaining their situation to Yolanda.

* * *

Miranda walked out of her last class and waited by the Sheffield Institute sign for Selena. She bent down to tie her shoe and once she got back up her head connected with something solid.

"Ow!" two voices yelled. Miranda clutched her forehead through her bangs and looked to see the brown eyes of none other than Derik.

"Seems we always meet like this." She started to smile but quickly diminished it and turned the other way. "Oh, come on, Miranda, I thought we were friends."

"Well, you thought wrong."

"I've apologized to Selena a thousand times. Just tell me what I did wrong?" he turned her around to face him and bent down so he could look her in the eyes. "Did I hurt you? Because if I did, I'm sorry. I'll never do it again.

"Derik, can't you just go and hang out with some meat-head jocks or something?"

"Now who's being stereotypical?" Derik asked raising an eyebrow. Miranda was about to reply whenever she saw Yolanda, Bree and Brooke making their way to where they stood.

"I should really be going now."

"No, not until you tell me what I did wrong." Yolanda tapped him on the shoulder and he stood straight and smiled at her. Miranda rolled her eyes.

"Hey babe." Yolanda said keeping her eyes locked on Miranda in a "leave now" glare. "What you doing?" Miranda turned to leave.

"Just talking to Miranda." He turned and saw her preparing to walk away and grabbed her hand to stop her. Despite all the cliché warnings going off in Miranda's head, she had to say it felt like electricity. Or judging by the way Derik yanked back his hand and looked at it as if he'd been hurt maybe it actually _was_ electricity. "Ow,"

"Sorry." Miranda murmured before speed walking away. _It was sweet of him to apologize. Really sweet._

"Hey, Miranda, ready to go?" Selena asked showing up out of nowhere. She looked down at Miranda's face and immediately knew something wasn't right. "What's wrong?"

"Separation anxiety."

* * *

"Okay, just say Guardians unite, and then say their powers." Hay Lin explained for the hundredth time. Yolanda and Selena sat at the table in the closed kitchen of The Silver Dragon, awkwadly playing cards. (Hay Lin's idea, not thiers.)

"No, it makes me feel stupid." Miranda pouted. "I mean, how can we randomly just stop in the middle of a fight and be all 'GUARDIANS, UNITE!' without people starring at us like- why is it glowing?"

"A portal's close!" Hay Lin said grabbing her jacket. "We have to close it." Yolanda, Miranda and Selena starred at her. "Now!"

The three girls rushed out of the restaurant and followed the heart as it pointed them in the right direction. Hay Lin rushed with them, hopping over stones in their path as they veered off of public roads. Now they were in woods, running out of breath.

"I thought the glowing meant a portal was close not 'Hey run three miles if you wanna see a portal!'" Yolanda said breathlessly trying to take off her heels and run at the same time. They raced through trees and jumped over fallen logs. Or at least, Selena did, Yolanda and Miranda kept tripping. Miranda assumed it must've been an Air guardian thing.

"We haven't even practiced!" Selena pointed out jumping over a _whole lake_. Miranda stopped and watched her, amazed. "How do we know what to do?" Suddenly a giant blue-looking circle formed in the air beside Selena. Scared, she threw up her hands in hope to send it away but only ended up shooting Yolanda over the stump of a cut tree.

"Um, okay, _OW!_"

"Use the heart." Hay Lin instructed, far behind them. She hadn't gotten as close as they had.

"How?" Miranda asked taking off her necklace. Suddenly a teenaged boy about the age of 16 flew out of the whole and landed on his face in the dirt. The girls screamed and hid behind a tree before Yolanda realized they were hiding from a _boy_ who didn't even have weapons. She got from behind the tree and slowly the others followed. They gathered around him, the portal still open.

Miranda pushed the boy onto his back and saw he was unconscious.

"Woah," Yolanda said. "He's hot." Miranda gave her a sharp glare before turning back to the boy.

"Anybody know CPR?" Selena asked Miranda placed one hand on top of another on his chest and began pumping hard. Then she leaned down and pressed her lips to his.

Then his eyes opened, before she could even give him a breath. She scrambled away, scared.

"Close the portal!" Hay Lin yelled far away, so faint they barely heard her. "_Close the portal!" _Selena starred hard at the boy, as he starred back at her.

_Something about him looks so familiar…_ she thought. Then he spoke.

"Selena?" he asked unsurely. Suddenly Yolanda shrieked and a shadow fell over them. Selena looked up to see a large, lizard…_thing_. It smelled worse than she had after the sixth grade milk incident and it looked indescribably slimy and disgusting. It growled a loud, inhuman like sound and that was enough to make Selena back away, horrified.

It took the boy and dragged him back through the portal, making Yolanda scream louder.

"No!" Selena cried trying to find a way to stop it. She knew that boy, she remembered him from _somewhere_. Not knowing what to do, she did the only thing she could think of:

She followed them.

And with that the portal closed, no need for the heart, for anything really. Hay Lin, having finally caught up looked back at where the portal once stood eyes large.

"Aw, shit!" Yolanda grumbled as Miranda stood from where she lay, frozen in fear. She stomped her foot and the ground shook in a miniature earth quake sending both Hay Lin and Miranda to the ground. "It's your fault! That…_thing_ got him! _Both_ of them!"

Miranda stayed on the ground, looking at where she'd last seen Selena before tears started coming out of her eyes. Hay Lin walked over to her before putting an arm around her.

"We'll get her back." Hay Lin promised. "We just need the others and we can get her back."

That night Miranda spent hours reading the book. About portals and where they lead to. But mostly about Selena. Guilt forming a sour taste in the back of her throat as Yolanda's words repeated in her head.

"_It's all your fault!"_

* * *

**AN: YESSSS! That's right; your eyes do not deceive you. I, Wynn-J, have just made TWO updates in ONE day. I deserve some kind of award. Now if only I could do this with my FictionPress stories…**

**DayDreamer9: Thank you so much for your review, and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!**

**Brimo: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEW! And I must agree, a bad family life doesn't give you a reason to prevent Selena from making Mi-ik T-shirts.**

**AsleySwift13: Thank you for reading! And yes, Hay Lin is epic. :D**

**Thanks for reading. And don't be afraid to type what you think of Selena's randomly stupid act of jumping through portals in the box below.**


	6. 5: Make A Wish

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 5: Make A Wish**

**WOOOO! Guess who didn't fail completely? Moi, also known as the awesome one.**

* * *

"You have to act sexy." Mila was saying in the small, makeshift courtroom. "Make so the absolute only way Brian could say no, is if he's gay."

"And how do we know he's not?" Hailey Barnes asked her troublemaking friend. Nila, Mila's twin sister, was pasting around them biting her nail as more students began to come into the class room.

"We don't; but on the bright side you can use that as an excuse to stimulate your brain into thinking up a plan B." Hailey looked over to her friend sarcastically muttering a 'ha-ha'. Mila smiled brightly and pushed the red head forward towards Brian and his friends. Jake and Tony were there (as always) but others were hanging around also, as while Brian wasn't _popular_ we was well-known in their clique.

"Hey, Brian." Hailey smiled at him. He turned around at the sound of her voice and raised a blonde eyebrow suspiciously.

"Uh, hey Hailey." Hailey was stumped. She found it quite ironic =, in fact, Here she was, probably the most prepared student in all of Sheffield who had the most brilliant mind in all of eighth grade yet whenever it came to flirting with guys, she was no better than Mila was at subtlety. "Um, Hailey? Brian asked.

She looked up to him, her blue eyes wide. He wasn't much taller than her, as Hailey was a little bit above average height for a girl her age. She was wearing her glasses as her contacts were being aggravating and her red hair was stiff and dull. To summarize, she was _not_ the fairest of them all that day.

Hailey opened up her mouth to say something-anything really. Hell, she would've even settled for the played out, clichéd _what do you think of this weather?_ Line but nothing was coming out. It was just a slightly tall stick-figure of a girl with coke-bottle glasses gazing hopelessly at a boy who was out of her league.

Brian's friends laughed at Hailey's dream-like state and Brian himself had a faint trace of a smirk on his lips. Hailey didn't like this at all. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? Wasn't the boy supposed to chase the girl? Hailey put an end to her thoughts there once she realized hoe stereotypical she was being and tried to say good bye.

Nope, that wasn't coming out either. Just a weird like straining noise, as if she were trying too hard to force the words out, or as if she were constipated.

The boys laughed and so did Brian. Hailey, her confidence deflated, ran away. _Like a coward_. She thought. _I'm a huge chicken. I can defend my clients up against every attorney. I can win Best Lawyer for two years running but when it comes to talking to boys, I'm a complete _loser_. _And the more Hailey thought about it, she realized the worst part was she wasn't even being hard on herself.

She really, honestly, was a wide-ranging failure.

* * *

Selena fell flat on her face onto the hard, cold, brick floor. Everything was a dull grey and the only color came from the floor-to-ceiling curtains hanging on the windows, the large throne up ahead in a room sectioned off, and the sky which had taken on a dark red shade. Oh and the snake. You couldn't forget the big-ass lizard snake thing.

"Christopher, nice to see you again." Rang a large voice from the room holding the throne. A man now sat there, looking at the boy from earlier with a smirk. Selena crawled quickly out of sight and tried to control her breathing as she sat and listened. "I've been waiting for you to come around."

Selena pulled up her knees and stuck her head in between them. Wasn't that what you were supposed to do when you had trouble breathing? Or a headache? Because Selena had both. Her pink headband began to slide off in her eyes and her light brown hair was a tangled mess. She felt the giant urge to throw up.

"Have you made your decision?" the large voice asked again. Selena picked up her head, took a breath, and made a risk to check and see what was happening.

Two large ogres with shining horns above their heads held the boy up by his arms, his feet just above the ground. He stood (or dangled) in front of a man with scars running across his face, and a crown covering whatever hair he had left.

"I'm not joining you." The boy, Christopher, spat. He sounded disgusted and cold…and scared.

Selena found herself sorry for this boy, the boy she knew she'd seen before, the boy she'd just risked her life for. He was only a year or two older than her and he wasn't ready to be in whatever situation he was in. Just like how Selena was _definitely_ not ready of be in this situation.

The severity of the situation hit her hard and fast like a bullet and just like a bullet actually had hit her, she felt as if her legs went out and her back was dug into. This shock and this fear was eating at her alive.

_Why did I have to jump through the portal? Why am I so _stupid_?_

"Well, then," said the man in the throne. "I guess I have no choice. The act of using portals without the Counsel's permission is punishable by death." Selena's eyes grew wide. "May I ask why you went through in the first place, Christopher?"

The boy was silent. His facial expression only contained a glare headed straight towards the man on the throne. The scabby, disgusting, sorrowful sounding man on the throne.

The man answered his own question. "It was for her wasn't it?" Selena listened closely. Was this 'her' they were talking about, well, _her_? Could Selena be the cause of this boy's death? "You wanted to get her back? We all know she's dead, Christopher." Despite the situation, Selena felt relief. She mourned for this boy and the girl he so nobly tried to save but it made her feel acquitted to know she wasn't responsible for what happened next.

"No, she's not." The boy replied harshly. He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself more than the man. The king? The king shook his head silently before raising his hand.

"Kill him." Selena let out a chocked cry then covered her mouth and closed her eyes, praying she wasn't heard.

Footsteps, coming closer and closer, as that was all she could hear. That and her quickening and shortening breaths.

She opened her eyes to come face to face with the king. His face was terrible, and it made Selena want to die just looking at it, all of its deep gashes and unhealed wounds. She gasped, from it and the closeness.

He placed a cold, hard hand to her cheek and Selena closed her eyes once again trying to get rid of the feeling.

"Take them both." He said loudly. Selena watched helplessly as the ogres came forward.

* * *

Miranda walked past all the Halloween dance posters unfazed. She wasn't thinking about any of that. Not Derik, not the dance, not Yolanda and her stupid words of blame. She was going to do whatever it took to get her friend back. Somewhere, Selena was lost and confused and she needed help. The only question was if she was going to get saved.

Miranda was cutting class, she knew that. She also knew she was missing Algebra 1, aka the class she needed the most help in. There was going to get a test tomorrow and her teacher never failed to stress "how important the first grade of the quarter" was.

Miranda shook the thought out of her head. _No, I need to get Selena back._ And the only way to do that was by recruiting the last two girls for Hay Lin to train. The book explained to her how to get Tayler. It was a frustrating task though. Some pages wouldn't be revealed, even by waving the heart over it, they remained blank.

Miranda waited for the right moment when Tayler walked out of ELA class like she did every day at 11:10 to go to the bathroom to make a wish on 11:11 which she did every morning. And every morning it was the same wish: To leave.

Tayler walked out of the class sleepily, tired from a night of studying whenever Miranda pounced.

"Woah," Tayler said shocked jumping back after Miranda had basically smashed into her at the corner.

"How would you like a new experience to use as an acting motive?" Tayler looked at her pink watch and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Uh, it sounds tempting but-."

"Wait!" Miranda said looking at the watch herself. "It's almost 11:11. I make a wish every morning."

"Really? Me too!" Tayler smiled closing her eyes to make her wish.

_This is too easy._ Miranda thought with a faint smile, eyes closed. Then she focused again. _Please let us get Selena back._

What? It couldn't hurt, right?

* * *

"Hey, you alright?" asked a deep voice in the dark. Selena knew it was Christopher, not so much as because she could guess his voice but because there were only three people at the bottom of this dungeon…hole thing. And one of them was dead but, ya know, details.

"I'm fine." Selena said with false bravado. "I should be asking you. Weren't you the one who'd just been strangled by a snake…thing?" His voice contained a trace of humor.

"You make a nice point." The silence following was uncomfortable. Selena shuffled on the cold dark floor and tried to focus her eyes more but still all she could see were figures, no faces.

"I'm Selena." She said. A part of her wanted to smack herself saying 'Well, duh, he already knew that!' But how was the question she wanted answered. "And you're Christopher?"

"You can call me Chris." He said quickly. "Only my father calls me Christopher." Selena's eyes bulged.

"That man was your _father_?"

"Oh, no. That was the king." Selena calmed down, bringing up her knees to rest her head against. "He always addresses people by their birth names."

"Oh. So how did you know _my_ name?"

"Um, you just told me it."

"I meant before we came to Meridian."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Selena looked over at her prison cell partner's form before raising an eyebrow.

"Really, no idea? The whole first meeting where you flew through a portal and I tried to help you leading up to the whole event of you saying _my_ name in disbelief?"

"I do not recall this." Selena felt a surge of anger and crammed her wrongly influenced reply back down her throat. For now.

* * *

Hailey walked out of Mock Trial with a somber attitude and skirted away from her friends in embarrassment. Her cheeks were almost as red as her hair and she felt so…_stupid._

_How could I just go up to Brian like that?_

But before Hailey could sink herself in more doubt, Yolanda Parkers in all her tall, brunette glory stopped in front of her, hip jutted out and an old tethered book in her hand. At first Hailey looked around to see if Yolanda was trying to talk to someone else and she was in the way but whenever Yolanda gave her a funny look Hailey knew whatever was coming up was to her.

"Okay, first, if you ever tell _anyone_ that I'm talking to you right now I'll kill you. And I know how to do it. Sort of." She was still trying to learn that whole _me-angry-make-lights-go-out_ Hulk-like thing Miranda had done so effortlessly in the bathroom but right now she was supposed to be focused on getting Selena back.

"What?" Hailey asked, squinting her blue eyes. Yolanda rolled her own before opening the book and flipping through pages.

"Believe it or not, you and I actually have a lot in common." Hailey scoffed. "I know, right? Unbelievable. We've both never met our biological mothers. We both hate our current moms. We're both bitches willing to get our way…"

"Hey, I am _not_ a bitch." Hailey corrected. Yolanda looked at her with a raised eyebrow before flipping through more pages in her book. "Wait, how'd you know that? I've never told anybody-."

"That you were adopted by a couple who couldn't bear children at the time but know, after medications, their giving birth to a healthy baby girl and acting like you never existed." Hailey blinked. "Another thing, we don't particularly like our new sisters."

"But, I-."

"Listen, Wendy," Yolanda said getting in Hailey's face. "I know what you're doing, making some failing attempt at trying to get some loser to fall for you so you can cheat him into writing you a letter of recommendation. And I have to admit, it's seriously clever but I know that's it's definitely enough to get you kicked out of your little Geek Squad."

"But-."

"I won't tell any worries." Hailey let out a breath of relief. "_If_ you meet me after school." Hailey looked Yolanda suspiciously. "I'll explain later. The Silver Dragon, four o'clock. Be there, bitch." Yolanda walked off, her brown hair bouncing as she did.

_When did my life get so screwed?_ Hailey thought before walking off to her next class.

* * *

"Say it."

"No,"

"Say it!"

"But Ms. Lin, it makes me feel stupid!"

"Oh, for the love of God, bitch, say the damned two words!" Yolanda screamed at the short girl holding the heart in her hand. Miranda scowled deeply before closing her eyes and yelling,

"Guardians, unite!" A blur of colors filled all four of the girls' eyes and for a brief second, Tayler covered herself, feeling naked. Once it all stopped and the wind died down, the girls stood now in guardian form, shocked.

"Wow," Yolanda commented. "You did sound pretty stupid." Miranda looked at her annoyed before Tayler exclaimed.

"Yes! I can finally wear a C cup!"

"Wow, _way_ too much information, drama freak." Hailey informed slightly disgusted. Tayler ignored her.

"These wings are epic! Look at the way they shine in the light! And I'm like, a foot taller! And Miranda, you're actually the size of a regular teenager!" Miranda blushed slightly before clearing her throat. She directed the girls towards the double doors.

"Okay, time to find Selena." Miranda was admitably a little hasty making her decision with the whole _Save Selena Now_ thing but she really couldn't help it. It was all her fault they were in this situation anyways. If she hadn't been so freaked out she couldv'e closed the portal. And if she'd closed the portal that lizard snakey _thing_ wouldn't have came though. And if it hadn't come through it wouldn't have gotten that boy. And if it hadn't gotten the boy Selena wouldn't have followed him.

"Woah, whoa, whoa, wait." Hay Lin yelled stopping the girls from walking out the front doors. She looked at them as if they were five year olds asking if they could buy a motorcycle. "You can't just _leave_. You haven't been properly trained or know how to fly or anything. I mean, I appreciate the enthusiasm but do you actually have a plan for saving her?"

The four new guardians looked at eatchother guiltfully.

"Um, we're winging it?" Yolanda asked suggestively. Then she smiled. "Get it? 'Cause we have wings." No one laughed but after Yolanda sighed of frustration Tayler murmured,

"I got it."

"Thank you," Yolanda said graciously

"No." Hay Lin blurted as if it were obvious. Which, it kinda was whenever Miranda thought about it enough. "You girls need practice. I won't have you going off and getting yourself killed and then what help will you be to Selena."

"Who's Selena?" Hailey asked in a whispered tone. Everyone ignored her comment.

"You won't leave without my consent," Hay Lin instructed. Miranda scowled. Hay Lin made her next comment at her directly. "_Right?_"

"Right," Miranda muttered.

**AN: Wow, I never knew they were allowed to give that many tests in one week but at least I got to skip most of my classes. But tomorrow's Friday so it's the Halloween dance and guess who isn't going? THIS GIRL! So yeah, I'm expecting to upload all of my stories by Sunday.**

**Thank you for reading and/or reviewing!**


	7. 6: Fails

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 6: Fails**

Selena dreamt about flying that night. It felt exactly like how Hay Lin described it. The world becoming smaller beneath her and all the worries she had drifted away. She smiled and her face lifted up to the sky only to be overcome by a shadow. She opened her eyes curiously to see where it was coming from but nothing was there. It was only darkness and it was getting darker and darker.

Then her wings just came off out of nowhere. She was back in her human form, she realized. She fell hard and fast, reaching up trying to grab something that she already knew wasn't there.

Selena jumped out of her nightmare in fear before realizing it was just a dream. She wasn't dead, or at least she wasn't dead yet. That's when the severity of the situation started to set in.

She was going to die if she didn't stop this mess, if she didn't break out of there it'd be over. But I wasn't like she could leave Chris.

She opened her eyes wide and raised her head from the cold, hard ground.

"Chris?" she whispered and when she didn't get an answer she asked more urgently. "Chris?!"

"Calm it, I'm here." He said, his voice portraying a trace of annoyance. He sounded far away and it cast an echo in the dark dungeon. Then there was a grunt noise and the sound of something hitting the ground. "Shit," he cursed

"Are you alright?" Selena asked worriedly before she realized she sounded like her mom. _Oh shit, mom!_ Selena thought. _I better start thinking of excuses now. Um, I was kidnapped? No, she'd freak out even more. Then again, who says I'm getting out of here._

"These walls are too high; I can't climb 'em."

"And what? If you could you would've just left me here at the bottom of this crap hole?"

"I never said that."

"But you were thinking it!" After spending only one night together, the two had become aggravated with one another to no end. Selena had wanted to strangle him at one point and when he used inappropriate language, she accidentally cut off his oxygen out of anger.

"Are you always like this?"

"If you mean adorable and amazing then yes." Selena stood and followed the noises he was making. She always had a better-than-average sense of hearing. _Oh, right._ Selena thought, know understanding. She pushed Chris out of the way and he stumbled.

"What was that for?"

"Shh!" she exclaimed before pressing her ear to the cold brick wall. She knocked on a brick about three times and stepped back satisfied. "These walls are solid."

"No shit." Selena gave him a glare before realizing he couldn't see it and settle for another push against his chest.

"That means we can see how high the walls are if we make a sound loud enough."

"Why do we need to know how high it is?" Selena rolled her eyes.

"Would you like to try - and _fail_ - once again at climbing the walls of death?" Chris narrowed his eyes at the girl's sarcasm.

"How do we make a noise loud enough?" Selena thought momentarily before stepping back and clicking her tongue. It was in no way loud and Selena kept repeating it over and over again. "Will you _stop_ that?"

Selena sucked in a deep breath and clicked her tongue. The volume of it was ear splitting. Chris covered his ears and ducked, trying to escape it. The noise died down after a couple of seconds and they both were quiet.

After the moment of silence Chris opened his mouth. "How far is it?"

"We're screwed."

* * *

"Miranda, can you please stay behind for a minute?" Students exiting the class cast her looks. "And Derik, can you stay also?" The students smiled and made "Oh, you're in trouble!" sounds. The teacher waited patiently for the teenagers to leave and Derik sat down at a desk while Miranda stood and rested her shoulder bag on a chair.

"Miranda, I have taken a look at your transcripts and it states you went through previous years at the top of your class while in advanced courses."

"Yes…" she prompted crossing her arms and looking down. Her black bangs fell in front of her jade green eyes and she risked a look at Derik. He was looking ahead, barely paying attention to whatever the teacher was saying and the blank look on his face made Miranda smile.

"Miranda, Derik? Are _either_ of you listening to me?"

"Huh?" they both asked sharply.

"Miranda, your grades, they're slipping." Miranda shrugged and gave her the "What can ya do?" face. "Were you aware the test today was counted towards the 40% of your grade?"

"Wait, that was the test?" Miranda asked stunned. _What class am I even in? Is this Algebra 1 or Adv. History 8?_ Cautiously, she turned to see if the picture of George Washington was anywhere on the walls. As is reading her thoughts, the teacher rubbed her temple and closed her eyes.

"Derik is currently the top of the class and since the soccer team hasn't started up yet he currently has no extracurricular activities before or after school."

"So?" Miranda asked slightly annoyed.

"Mr. Ray, would you mind tutoring Ms. Yale for the remainder of the first quarter?"

"Not at all ." Derik smiled. Miranda's eyes widened.

"What? The rest of the quarter?"

"Fine, half." Ms. Icolvitch grabbed her bags and made her way to the door for a teacher meeting. "You have three weeks to raise your grade in my class or tutoring will continue the second half, are we clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Derik stated happily. She didn't wait for Miranda to reply.

"Good." She left the room.

"Bitch," Miranda snarled. Derik stood from his seat and threw his back pack over his shoulder. He was wearing one of those shirts that clung to muscles like Yolanda to V8. Miranda tried not to drool as that would be seriously disgusting. His extremely dark hair was disheveled and Miranda tried to restrain herself from pushing it back into its usual bed-head-but-cute way.

"We can start tomorrow morning, let's meet here, kay?" Miranda narrowed her eyes at his cute but suspicious smile.

"You had something to do with this didn't you?" Derik smiled and looked her in the eye.

"You're just paranoid." He began to walk out of the room but Miranda stopped him by asking,

"You just can't give up, can you?" he turned around to face her while walking backwards out of the door.

"If by that you mean I can't ask Ms. 'Vitch if there are any students who need tutoring while knowing you didn't study because Yolanda told me you spent all night at some restaurant up the street then yes, I can't." He was waiting for her to reply, Miranda knew that. She wanted to say something sarcastic or do the right thing by Yolanda and just leave but instead Miranda found herself picking up her shoulder bag, smiling and saying,

"Here, tomorrow morning, 8:30." She marched past him and out of the room before turning around. "And don't tell Yolanda."

Derik smiled watching her go.

* * *

Chris fell, hit the hard ground once again and let out a sound of pain.

"Didn't we already discuss we're screwed and the end affect in all this is death either by King Scabby or Hey, Let's See How Many Times I Can Survive A Ten-Foot Fall?" Chris used the wall for support to stand.

"Well you're the smart one, should you be coming up with a plan?" Selena smiled and looked up at where she thought he was from her seat on the ground.

"You think I'm smart?" She could almost hear him rolling his eyes.

"You came up with that annoying tongue thing easy enough." Selena was thinking about a way to break out but none of them seemed worthy enough to work. Besides, it wasn't like she could just shift into Guardian Mode and fly them out. _That's a good idea._

Selena smiled at the thought and stood.

"I think I know what we can do."

"Oh, thank God."

"We're jumping."

"…Are you serious?"

* * *

Miranda walked into the empty Silver Dragon restaurant and smiled when she saw no one was near, not even Hay Lin. Then again that was probably due to the fact Hay Lin canceled practice today since she had a doctor's appointment.

Miranda shoved down the guilt she felt for using her powers in order to break in because she was doing it for a good cause. School had ended about an hour ago and Miranda had finally decided to come over whenever her mother had braked her third round of cookies.

Miranda opened the book and turned to the chapter about all her necklace could do. When she found the two things she needed she wrote a note to Hay Lin and slammed the book shut. She walked out of the restaurant deciding it would be better if she did this where it started.

In the woods, Miranda opened the book before taking off her necklace and holding it securely in her fist. _Guardians, find me._

* * *

"What the hell happened to my room?!" Hailey screamed as she looked and saw the pink walls and baby crib where her bed used to be.

"Oh, sweetie, isn't it incredible?" Her mother asked teary-eyed. "We wanted to surprise you when you came home from school and here it is! This is going to be Hallie's room."

"You turned my room into a _nursery_?" Hailey asked incredibly. Her father passed by holding boxed filled with Hailey's stuff. "Dad!"

"It was your mom's idea." He said sorrily. "I couldn't talk her out of it." Hailey scowled.

"What are you doing to my stuff?" Hailey asked incredibly. They just booted her out of her own room. This _stupid_ baby gets my parents, my room what's next?

"You have to move to the attic until we get a new house." Hailey's mother shrugged. "There's not enough room for everyone." Hailey's jaw dropped but her mother ignored her. "I think I want to name her Bailey. How cute would that be, sweetie? Hailey and Bailey, my little angels."

"It sounds stupid." Hailey dragged. Her mother frowned.

"You're so down lately." _No shit._ Hailey thought as reply. "You're attitude needs to fix itself. I'm not having the baby around negative energy." Hailey's face burned in anger. She stomped into the kitchen to sulk alone. _What's this stupid baby done for me? She hasn't even been born yet and she's already ruining my life._

She was so mad she wanted to- She didn't know what she wanted to do. Something bad. She was so angry…

With no warning, the kitchen faucet began spraying water in all directions. Hailey squealed. In less than four second Hailey was drenched in water, her red hair dangling in front of her eyes.

"Hailey, what do you think you're doing?!" her father asked. "You know this house has gentle pipes, you can't just play with water whenever you want to. It costs money." Hailey gasped.

"Well I didn't do it!"

"Oh, honey what happened? You're all wet?" her mother had entered and her father quickly filled her in on how their daughter started randomly spraying the room with water. "Oh, what kind of example are you setting for your sister?" She asked disapprovingly while rubbing her protruding stomach.

_I wish that stupid baby would get tangled in its umbilical cord._ Hailey thought glaring at the stomach.

"I gotta go." She said. Hailey walked past her parents while dripping on the floor. She grabbed her purse and shoved out the door. She was expecting them to call after her but when they didn't she was just left wandering.

Then there was this annoying…thing. I was just picking at parts in her brain, leading her in a direction she didn't want to go. She eventually followed it, leaving her family behind, unaware of her mother suddenly falling to the kitchen floor from pain, and her father calling the hospital.

* * *

The girls all stood in a circle all staring at each other when Hailey walked into the clearing in the woods. "What the hell was that?" Hailey asked them just before Miranda pulled out the heart. "It felt like you were dragging me here but the collar."

"Because I need help." Miranda shrugged. "I don't really know how to start." Hailey folded her arms.

"Short stuff, can't you just ask your parents about this 'developing' stuff like the rest of us?" Tayler hid her smile behind her hand while Yolanda laughed openly, almost rolling on the ground in hysteria. Even Miranda had to bite back her smile before glaring at the red head and waving the heart around.

"Not _that_ starting, genius." She gestured to the necklace. "I meant I don't know exactly how to start _this_. You know, speech wise." Hailey blushed but did not reply. "We're saving Selena."

"We can't. Hay Lin's rules." Hailey stated. Tayler rolled her eyes.

"You'll never get anywhere but doing what the man tells you to do." Hailey place her hands on her hips before taunting back,

"Well noticing how the man in this case is a 30-year-old woman with a strange love for writing on herself I think I'll get _somewhere_." Yolanda nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Do you think she ever got ink poisoning or something?"

"That's true!" Tayler said, a light summing on in her head. "I mean, she writes on her hands like, every five seconds."

"Maybe it's an addiction."

"Or, she was cursed to where she can never use paper."

"What kind of curse is that?"

"A good one."

"Yeah, if I couldn't use paper, I'd go crazy."

"Well, when you put it that way-"

"_**HEY**_!" Miranda screamed. Lightning crackled down and struck the ground between the, sending branches off of tress and the girls huddling together for protection. Miranda smiled before looking back down at her book for the instructions on how to open a portal. The girls murmured quietly.

"She's losing it." Tayler mumbled

"I know, right? No need to go all Thor on us." Yolanda agreed.

"You mean Zeus?" Hailey asked

"What?"

"Zeus was the one with the lighting. Thor's-"

"The hot blonde one." Tayler supplied Yolanda smiled.

"Oh, I love him!"

"GUYS!" Miranda's voice cackled through the forest and the girls quieted down once again. She picked up the heart and sliced open a portal. "Guardians unite!"

After the lights, Tayler fluttered her wings. "This is never going to get old."

"It sounds stupider and stupider every time she says it." Yolanda smiled. Hailey laughed; Miranda glared.

"We're going to die." Hailey mumbled looking at the blue spinning circle of death.

"Hey, we're gonna do this, okay? We're the guardians, we protect the _universe_ and we can't even go to a different planet to save one of our own?"

"No." Yolanda murmured

"Yes!" Miranda replied passionately. "We can do this! We've been taught, we're stronger than this. Together, we can do anything!"

**_Half an Hour Later_**

"I hate you all." Yolanda sneered, arms crossed in the prison cell of the Meridian Palace.

Tayler sobbed behind the iron bars as Hailey sat on the floor hugging her knees rocking back and forth. Miranda leaned against the prison doors as Yolanda looked at her accusingly.

"Nice going bitch." Yolanda snapped. Miranda banged her head against the bars repeatedly.

"Of all the people I could've been locked up with." Miranda said looking up to the ceiling. "Anybody but her. Hitler, Kaddafi, Justin Beiber..."

"Hey, I resent that!" Yolanda gasped offended. The sound of locks opening silenced Tayler's sobs and brought Hailey to a stand. There was a loud booming voice but the person never showed.

"Well, if it isn't the guardians." Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Well if it isn't the totally cliché openings for all super villains. Let's cut to the chase: Where's Selena?"

"She is dead." Miranda stopped breathing. She stopped everything really. She didn't hear the rest of his speech, only the three words.

_Dead?_ She thought. _How is she dead? She can't be…_

Tayler looked over to the small girl to see her drowning in her thoughts and slinking back up to the cold bars. Miranda dropped to the floor, nothing but a heap of tears and exposed skin. (Guardian outfits were really against Sheffield Institutes dress code.)

"What about us?" Tayler asked wiping away her tears. Whenever the voice didn't answer, they all knew. They were going to be there for a long time.

"Well," Tayler said trying to shine a light on the evening. "That was an epic fail."

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading! Can't reply to reviews but feel free to tell me about what you think?**


	8. 7: Home

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 7: Home**

* * *

"What is this?" Selena asked shivering in fear at the glass before her. This was going to be how she died. There was probably some kind of poison in it or it would be kerosene or something.

"Juice."

"You lie!"

"Why would I lie?"

"Chris, what kind of juice is that color?" Chris shrugged and drowned his own cup of juice. _It's fine._ Selena tried to persuade herself. And she was thirsty due to the fact they'd spent the past hour running away from the palace to Chris's home.

"Fine," he said. "You don't want it, I'll drink it." Selena glared her light blue eyes into his dark ones before forcefully grabbing the drink and swallowing it.

"Take that," she smiled slamming it on the table. He smiled back before shaking his dark brown hair out of his eyes. Selena leaned back in her chair before taking the small hut in. It was poorly furnished but it was comfy and warm despite the freezing cold weather outside in Meridian. "I should really get back home. My mom is probably freaking out."

Chris tensed up a little but before Selena could call him out for it he shrugged and said, "Sure, I know a place."

"A place for what?" Chris only smiled, standing up and offering her a hand. She didn't take it, only stood and patiently waited for him to guide her to this _place_.

"Must you always be so infuriating?"

"What can I say?" Selena asked her eyes bright with amusement. "You bring it out in me." He shook his head and walked off as she followed. He led her around back and eventually outside. Selena shivered and stood close to him for body heat. Chris pulled out a bag from his pocket before opening it and sprinkling its contents (which looked a lot like dirt) on the hard ground. And then…nothing happened.

"What the fuck?" Selena asked impatiently

"Wait, damn it!" Chris snapped back, clearly annoyed. This girl was irking his nerves in a way he didn't even know how to explain. Soon, a blue swirling vortex opened and shined, casting a shadow across Selena's suddenly smiling face.

"A portal!" Selena literally jumped with the joy of knowing she could go back to her world, back to her friend. "How did you- you know what? I don't even care! Thank you!" Selena wrapped her arms around the taller boy, smiling into his chest. "Thank you."

Slowly, he wrapped his arms back around her, surprised but comfortable. But before he could take advantage of the moment, it was over. Selena bid him a good bye and jumped through with happiness.

Christopher watched with a dim smile before sighing, closing the portal and walking back in his house. Then he carefully hid the bag of "dirt".

* * *

Hay Lin was going crazy when Selena found her. Literally, she was breaking down and saying things that didn't make sense.

"Um, Ms. Lin?" Selena asked after using the key she made to open the room. Hay Lin was standing behind the bar looking down at a piece of paper in tears before snapping her attention to the 13-year-old brunette in front of her.

"Oh my GOD!" Hay Lin screamed before running around the counter and tackling her in a hug. Selena pushed her off before smiling.

"It's okay. _I'm_ okay." Hay Lin shook her head, her long dark hair flowing.

"No, it's the girls." Hay Lin handed Selena the note. Selena read it confused and shocked.

"'I need to find her.' Is that it? No p.s. or anything?"

"I don't really think a letter of such importance needs one!" Selena placed a hand to her forehead.

"This is all my fault." Hay Lin grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her hard.

"No! Don't do that _stupid_ pity thing. That's what got us here in the first place." Selena looked up to Hay Lin hopelessly. And then she realized, there was hope.

"I can save them!" Hay Lin's eyes widened.

"Oh, no! No, no, no , no , no, no, no-."

"No worries, Ms.L, I got this." Selena assured her "I even know someone who would be _eager_ to help me.

* * *

"No. I can't do that." Chris stated matter-of-factly. Selena almost punched him in the arm.

"What, why?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I just escaped from there. Like literally, two hours ago."

"I _know_." Selena whinnied almost stomping her foot in aggravation. "Which is why I think we can do this. You're knowledge of the Meridian Palace and my…smartness," Selena hadn't told her new friend about her powers, Up until know, he just thought she was a _really_ smart girl with physics on her side. "We can get my friends out of there like _that_." She snapped her fingers.

Chris looked like he was about to give in too. So close. "No." he said just before Selena was about to celebrate. Selena pouted. "The risk is too high."

"Come on. You _owe_ me." Chris was still standing his guard. "Pleaassssee?" Selena asked, making her blue eyes wide and looking up to him like a little five year old who lost her mom in the department store.

Chris cursed under his breath. "Fine!" Selena wrapped her arms around him, screaming in joy. "But if we do this, we do it my way. You understand?" he looked down at Selena expectantly, who only jumped into the air with a large smile screaming,

"Fuck, yeah!"

About an hour later they stood back outside the palace, looking over rocks on the other side of the moat which surrounded the large brick walls.

"Okay, I have an idea." Selena said confidently. Chris shook his head.

"Uh-uh, _my_ way, remember?" Selena rolled her eyes. Chris looked at the lay out of the outside walls. "Okay, so, the windows up there are for the room that hold inventory. Now, if we find something sturdy, we'll be able to climb up through there and use the servant stairs to make our way to the dungeon. Then all we have to do is find the cage or hole where your friends are, somehow break them out and make our way out by crawling through the sewage pipes out the back."

"Or, ya know, we could just walk through the West entrance leading to the empty hallway." Selena sighed cleaning her nails boredly. Chris looked to where she was referring to see she was correct. He scowled.

"Are you always right?"

"Only with you." She smiled before leading the way to the board walk. Below, the guards of the West entrance hang on for their lives trying not to drop in the infected waters below after the small 13 year old had used her powers to knock them over the edge.

* * *

"You have no idea how much I want to kill you right now!"

"Touch me, bitch! Try me! I will knock your short ass out!"

"I wish I could rip out your-."

"Will you two just _shut up_ already?" Tayler asked annoyed as Miranda and Yolanda stared each other down. "It's like you two can't even take a break from insulting one another."

"Well," Yolanda sighed, placing a hand on her hip. "When you have so many things wrong with someone can you really help it?" Miranda growled, ready to pounce when she heard a familiar voice.

"You guys need some help?" Miranda's eyes widened as she ran to the edge of the large cage and looked out into the darkness.

"Selena?" she asked hopefully

"Selena." Selena assured coming into view, a warm smile on her face. The rest of the girls ran up to the edge of the cage happily.

"You're not dead!" Tayler smiled

"Yeah, you're fine!" Hailey beamed

"You brought the hot guy." Yolanda grinned with a low voice so only the girls could hear. They all turned their attention to the handsome blue-eyed boy who, once realized he was being talked about, smiled sheepishly.

"Uh, hey." Chris said quietly

"Hey." Yolanda smiled back, also quiet. They just stared at each other until Selena cleared her throat.

"You guys wanna get out or what?" she asked

"Yes!" Miranda screamed. "The stupid necklace isn't working; I've been trying to power up all day." Selena nodded.

"Okay, well, Yolanda's earth, try helping me with the bars." Yolanda nodded. Both the girls pulled the bars forcibly before letting go and looking at their pricked hands. Chris looked at them stupidly.

"You think you guys can just _push_ a way out?" Selena rolled her eyes as Yolanda lifted an eyebrow.

"Yo, Smelly," Yolanda snapped at Selena who was glaring at the boy. Selena sneered back at Yolanda's nickname. "You push, I pull."

Selena smiled "Deal." Both of the girls tugged harshly before the bar snapped off and smacked Yolanda in the forehead.

She dropped the bar in pain and it landed directly on Hailey's foot. The red head began hopping up and down making small screams as Yolanda pressed a hand to her head in agony. Hailey bumped right into Tayler who landed on her butt on the cold hard cement floor.

Now all three of the girls were in pain while Miranda just rolled her eyes and walked out of the cage, pulling her necklace around her neck.

Chris looked at the girls in amazement. "This is actually really sad." Chris gathered. Miranda nodded.

"Hey, less talking more walking." Selena urged pushing her friends to the exit. They ran down the empty halls (Well, in Hailey's case, limped.) waiting to be exposed to the Meridian air. They were almost outside, almost free -they could literally _see_ the door- when they heard it.

"The prisoners have escaped! Block the exits, they couldn't have gotten that far."

The six teens ran out quickly and dashed over the moat when the first arrow was fired. Yolanda quickly ducked her head as the bow whizzed past her and landed expertly in a nearby tree, splintering the wood.

"Shit," she gasped. She looked over the Miranda who was looking for a way to escape. "The necklace! Use the necklace!"

"It won't work!" Miranda screamed back, barely escaping another arrow.

"Well try again!" Yolanda replied

"Guardians, unite!" Miranda yelled. The five girls lifted into the air, wind blowing and lights flashing as Chris looked on in shock. "Yolanda, earth!"

The tall brunette landed on the ground, lifted up her foot and slammed it on the ground causing the land to lift up and slam back down as if someone was shaking a rug.

The moat fell to pieces, but the castle still stood on a solid foundation. The guards were now coming out by the hundreds, all wearing black and red clothing that couldn't really be considered armor. _Stylish yet threatening_. Yolanda thought. _Epic._

Simultaneously, they all fired at the young girls and boy. Everything from arrows to bullets.

"Fuck," Hailey gasped in horror as they came closer and closer and…stopped. All the bullets, all the sharp, pointy object just-stopped. Right there in the middle of the air, frozen.

The guardians all looked to one another before Selena smiled. "Okay, your power," Hailey nodded as Selena turned the weapons around and aimed them at the guards. "Is seriously awesome."

"I know." she sig songed before slinging the objects back. The guards ran off in all directions, eager to find protection. The girls turned as Miranda excitedly opened a portal, not wanting to waste any time now that they could leave.

Selena turned to face Chris. "So is this it or are you going to jump through with us?"

Chris only smiled, but didn't answer the question when he said, "So _you're the_ guardians. I was starting to think you were just old fairy tales or legends."

"You were close enough." Tayler sighed, wrapping and arm around Selena giving her an impromptu hug. "We're M.Y.T.H.S." Selena smiled.

"Cool." He stated, hands in his pockets.

"Bye, Chris." Selena smirked, mockingly waving good bye.

"Later, Selena." They were just about to jump through the portal when a single arrow sliced through the air. Only Chris saw it, as the others had their back turned. It was aiming right at Selena and he was the only one to stop it.

So he jumped. It got him right in the leg and it hurt like _shit_. He groaned in pain.

Selena turned around and saw him on the ground. She also saw the other guards on their way. There was no way he could go back home with all the guards chasing him. Selena knew how that felt, the feeling of not being able to go home.

So, as quick as she could, she took him to theirs.

**AN: Updating twice today! Thank you for reading an please review! Thanks!**


	9. 8: Bitches Get Stitches

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 8: Bitches Get Stitches**

"I'm grounded." Selena whispered into the telephone outside the apartment building next to her home. She looked around suspiciously hoping no one would notice her and tell her mother she was out _again_.

"What do you mean you're grounded?" Miranda asked into the receiver just before taking another bite of one of her mother's cookies. She swiveled on her stool at the bar in one of her houses kitchens, sitting under a single light not wanting to wake anybody up.

"I _mean_ that I'm sneaking this call to you at 3 am because my mom is pissed I was missing for 22 hours."

"Please, at the most it had to be, like, 18." Miranda scoffed.

"Whatever." Selena rolled her eyes. "How's life in the palace?"

"Why must you always call it that?" Miranda asked fixing herself a glass of milk.

"Maybe because your house is bigger than Obama's." Selena joked. Miranda rolled her eyes. Her house was admitably bigger than necessary which is why she never invited friends over for the fear they'd think she was trying to intimidate them. Of course, Miranda had never actually had the kind of friends she _wanted_ to bring over but, ya know, details. "Shouldn't you be asleep? Not to be buggin' or anything but didn't you tell me you have tutoring tomorrow?"

Miranda made a noise of aggravation. "Don't remind me. Believe me, I want to do the right thing and stay away but he's so damn stubborn!"

"Who the hell said it was the right thing?" Selena asked resting her head on the wall of the telephone booth. "Yolanda? Because she's really not one to talk."

"I know, I know." Miranda sighed. "But I mean, is it even worth it? Putting myself in social suicide danger because of one boy?"

"One hot, charming, sweet, soccer-playing, smart, adorable boy?" Selena asked "Yes, I believe it is."

"I thought you said you didn't like him." Miranda joked.

"NO, he's too cocky."

"Derik is _not_ cocky."

"Oh, defensive are we?" Selena giggled. Miranda scoffed.

"I'm going to sleep."

"Sure you are,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you sure your boyfriend is waiting for you?"

"I'm hanging up."

"_Oh, Miranda! How I long to kiss you if not for my bitchy girlfriend!_...Miranda?"

* * *

Miranda sat in the desk rubbing her sleepy eyes as Derik tried explaining y-intercepts. It was really hard sleeping during that by the way. Every time she began to drift into sleepy land he would always violently snap her awake making her regret the 2 hour phone call with Selena she'd had that morning.

"Therefore y=mx+b. Get it?"

"This is _so_ stupid. When am I going to use this?" Derik smiled.

"Odds are never. But it's still fun to get an A on it." Miranda looked up from her desk to see his eyes shining with amusement. That stupid smile on his face. _He's always so happy_. Miranda thought. _Annoyingly happy._

Miranda needed that though. She needed happiness in her life which was so usually filled with sadness. Sadness in never seeing her father, sadness in her mother always using cookies to cover up her feelings, sadness in all those years of bullying, sadness in almost losing her only friend, sadness in Finchel breaking up in the last episode of Glee.

Okay so the last one was kind of stupid but it was still sad. She deserved happiness. She deserved _him_. She liked him.

_I like him._ Miranda thought again. _I like him a _lot_._ She smiled.

"This just seems so stupid, ya know? I mean, if God or fate or…_whatever_ wanted us to know this stuff it would've been common knowledge. Maybe all this global warming and tension in the Middle East is just nature warning us to fuck off. And why do they call it the Middle East anyways? If it's in the middle, why the east. Or if it's east, does that mean in China it's the Middle West?" Derik looked up to her, his eyes containing confusion and amusement.

"You are so-."

"Weird, I know." Miranda nodded. "I get that a lot."

"No." Derik shook his head. "It's awesome. _You're_ awesome." Miranda looked down and blushed.

"No, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with me." She laughed. He scoffed.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, it's like…I don't know." Miranda laughed under his intense gaze. "Maybe it's like- you. You and everyone else, they have these perfect modeling lives and perfect wires and mines got all messed up." Then she laughed at how ridiculous it sounded coming out of her mouth. She almost wished she hadn't said anything until she looked up and saw Derik's eyes on hers.

"Nobody's perfect." Derik assured "But you're close."

* * *

Brook gasped, horrified. Her ridiculously long blonde hair was in a ponytail and went all the way down to the beginning of her Raiders skort. "That bitch!"

Bree snuck a look through the small window to the classroom to see what Brook was so worked up about. Miranda and Derik sat closer than necessary laughing over a text book.

"What should we do?" Bree asked tugging on her own blonde ponytail. "Tell Yolanda?"

"Please, I have no idea why you follow her around so much." Brook rolled her eyes with a scoff. "We take care of this by ourselves. I lost Derik to Yolanda over the summer and I was willing to let it slip because she's at least comparable to me. But _her_? She's a complete no one!"

"So what do we do?" Bree asked again. "Oh, we'll print the paper! That'll show her!" Brook shook her head.

"No, I have an even better idea." Bree smiled in anticipation but Brook never told her what this better idea was..

"What? Do we spill milk on her?" Brook scoffed.

"Please, that is so sixth grade. Besides, we already have a Smellena. We need to do something worse. Something that'll get back at all three of them."

"Three?" Bree asked, brown eyes wide.

"Yes, three! Yolanda, Derik and Miranda. God, girl, keep up!" Bree quieted down. "And I know exactly how do to it."

"But _how_? You're being to secretive!"

"Just wait, damn, be patient!" Brook whisper-yelled not wanting Derik or Miranda to hear her. "We only print the paper. For now."

* * *

Selena didn't notice all the students' laughter as she entered the hallway with Miranda until she saw the paper on her desk. There were Raiders in the hallways handing it out to people, wanting everyone to be sure it was read.

"_Miranda: New Girl Freak_ read all about it!" one yelled bouncing up and down happily. Miranda grabbed the paper and read it horrified. But still the worst was yet to come.

The paper had her theory on it. The whole, my brain is cross thing. But _worse_. The paper made her sound spoiled, as if she only cared about herself in her problems. As if she was the only one who'd ever felt excluded and how she just needed to suck it up.

Derik was already there, he stood at a newspaper stand only down the hall. Miranda went up to him and contained herself from smacking him or making a fuse circuit come undone and light his clothes on fire.

"You can't even keep a conversation to yourself for five minutes, can you?" Derik's eyes widened.

"What? No, Miranda-."

"I can't believe you would just play me like that!"

"Miranda, please, just listen-."

"To what? A lie or another stupid math equation? I trusted you! I talked to you! I liked…forget it." Miranda began to walk away before Derik grabbed her hand trying to lead her back.

"_Don't touch me_. Don't _ever_ touch me again."

Miranda threw the paper down and stomped down the hallway. Selena followed after, her bright pink head band like a traffic light dividing the crowds of students.

"Hey, new girl," a boy called "Feel free to fun into me _any time_!"

"You seriously tried to get with Derik Ray? Idiot."

"Can you have your mom look at this design and tell me what she thinks of it?"

"Hey, my Galaxy Orange phone dropped in my cereal the other day, you think you can convince your dad to get me a free one?" Miranda pushed pass all the students making her way to the tall brunette who had just picked up at paper, looking at it shocked.

Yolanda looked up and saw the small hazel-eyed girl glaring at her only a few feet away. She was about to explain that she hadn't done this and it wasn't her fault.

But Miranda wasn't interested in talking. Miranda slammed Yolanda back to the lockers before grabbing a fist full of hair and dragging her to the ground. Yolanda scowled, grabbed hair and tugged harder. It only took a matter of seconds before the entire student body was yelling and cheering.

"Hey!" Selena tried prying them apart only to come back out with scratches on her arms. Angry, she used her powers to forcefully push them away from eatchother. The two girls glared at one another, Miranda barely containing her anger.

"I told you to stay away from him!"

"You tell me a lot of things." Miranda retorted. "You're such a _bitch_. Are you telling me there wasn't one other person at this school that wanted to kill your ass?"

"Oh, short stuff, just grow a pear! It's not all about you; there are other people out there who no doubt hate you too! Walking around with some stupid holier-than-thou attitude and thinking you're so special whenever your own father doesn't even want you!"

As soon as the words came out of her mouth Yolanda regretted it. It was bitchy and just plain mean but it didn't matter anyways. Miranda got her revenge whenever her fist slammed into Yolanda's right eye.

* * *

A week. Miranda got suspended for a week while Yolanda only got out for a day. The whole thing pissed Selena off even more. Selena knew somewhere right now in The Palace, Miranda was getting a butt load of cookies and Yolanda's father was paying whoever possible to make the situation go away or to get Yolanda's black eye (which she completely deserved) checked.

And Selena's predictions weren't far off.

Yolanda sat in bed, Danielle sitting beside her in all her new-step-mother glory. Yolanda groaned and turned to face the other way only to be met with Ellie. "I thought I told you to stay out of my room, ya little twerp!"

"Mom! Didn't Yolanda just get beat up for saying stuff like that?" Yolanda sneered at the seven-year-old before Ellie stuck out her tongue and ran out of the large room.

"It's fine, Yolanda." Danielle assured. "I'm taking care of you while you're out of school. We could play boards games or watch DVDs?"

"No."

"Yes," said David Parker from the doorway. "Yolanda your attitude is becoming more and more of a problem with every day. And I can't help but feel you're making these decision because you have no consequences. So I'm cutting you off."

Yolanda sat up in her bed.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm cutting you off. I'm not buying you anything, I've killed all your cards and your wallet is now my possession until I think you've earned it back."

"But Dad, the Halloween dance! It's _next Friday_! I need tickets!"

"Then I guess you need a job."

_And with that, my life is ruined._ Yolanda thought slamming her face back into the pillows.

**AN: This is one of my shortest chapters for this story..Huh.**

**And with that, today's uploads are done. You know, unless I finish writing nine (which will include a lot of Chris. I feel kinda bad for leaving him out like this.) and maybe ten as I usually write one big chapter and them separate them in two.**

**THANK YOU and Please review!**


	10. 9: Dirty Little Secret(s)

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 9: Dirty Little Secret(s)**

* * *

The minute Derik Ray came into the library, Selena felt a sudden shift of tension in the air. There she was, reading about Meridian's previous family line whenever she felt this unnerving feeling in the back of her mind.

She closed the book, and turned around to face him before he even had time to officially approach her.

"You have five minutes to tell me why I shouldn't punch you in the gut." Derik raised an eyebrow at Selena's empty threat.

"Because it would hurt you more than it would hurt me." He smiled. Selena scowled; he was right.

"Fine, I'll knee you in the crotch. Four minutes."

"Selena," Derik sighed sitting down in the seat next to her. Selena frowned. Did she not look threatening enough because the message she was trying to put off said _I am defending my friend from your douche bag-ness even though she's going to be out of school for three more days._ But apparently Derik got _Hey, buddy, wanna sit down and talk to me about your girl problems?_ Because that's exactly what he did.

He went into this whole thing about how it wasn't his fault and that he would never preach to anyone else things Miranda had told him privately. And even after all the evidence against him and the fact her best and only friend was suspended, Selena believed him.

"And I don't know how to fix it so I need your help."

"My help to do what?" Selena asked shoving her book into her book bag.

"Get Miranda to talk to me again. I got close, like, _really_ close during tutoring but then that paper fucked everything up. I don't even know what I did." Selena rolled her eyes.

"Are you really _that_ dense?" she asked. Derik looked at her surprised. "You're telling me after everything that's happened, you have no suspicions what so ever of who could've been behind this?" Derik shrugged before his eyes widened.

"Oh!"

"Yeah, smart one." Selena scoffed, giving him a 'What would you do without me?' face. At least, that was until he said,

"Trey Laski! I knew he played pranks but this one went a little far..." Selena got up and thumped him in the back of the head. He grabbed his head, muttering inappropriate words and scowling at her. "What?"

"Your girlfriend, dumb ass!" He looked at her confused.

"Yolanda?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have any other ones?" He glared at her before she turned to face the other way once again pulling out her book. He was way too naïve and questionable to understand the basics of girl code.

"Landa wouldn't do that?"

"Really?" Selena asked "Because I know 'Landa' would drag my best friend into a bathroom and threaten her with a secret revealing newspaper if she ever talked to her boyfriend again." It took a while for Derik to understand what Selena was saying but when he did he got mad. Like, scary mad.

Or maybe it was only scary because Derik wasn't the type to get mad. At least, not around Selena. And there was something else… "She sneaks in early every day for school so she probably heard your conversation in the math room."

Derik left after that, saying he needed to 'talk' with Yolanda. Selena knew that he was ditching school. She also knew you probably shouldn't place pressure on a girl at home with a black eye and a world to save. And she knew Yolanda wouldn't like this talk.

Yolanda didn't need a mad boyfriend on top of all her other problems.

"_Hey, Smellena, can't you take a shower?"_

"Screw Yolanda." Selena smiled skipping merrily out of the library for lunch.

* * *

"Where is she right now?"

"At school."

"And is she safe?"

"Yes, she's safe."

"Are you sure? What if someone attacks? Or if a tornado magically appears? What if-"

"Chris?" Hay Lin asked, pausing from washing the dishes. Chris looked up from his seat at her table. "Shut up."

"Sorry." He said shamefully. "It's just…I'm worried about her." Hay Lin gasped before dropping the dish she was washing and running over to the table and sitting across from him. She smiled wickedly. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because someone (you) has a crush on Selena." Chris' eyes bulged. Chris had been staying with Hay Lin until it was safe enough for him to return home. You know, suggesting he had a home and that the guards hadn't burned it down or anything.

"I do _not_ like Selena." He stated slightly disgusted.

"Denial. It's okay. But just remember, you have to grab her while you can. Love for some people is a once and a lifetime thing, you know."

"I _don't_ like her." Hay Lin laid a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Chris, it's okay. You can tell me anything." Chris laughed to himself.

"You have no idea." Now Hay Lin was interested.

"No idea about what, Christopher?" Chris looked up at her silently. "Chris, you can tell Mamma Lin _anything_."

"Anything?" She nodded. Chris looked at the options in his head, either he would tell her or he'd be questioned every day until it was eventually spilled. So he told her.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Say something." Chris said. Hay Lin stared at him.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have told me."

"Hay Lin!"

"She doesn't know?!" Hay Lin asked amazed

"No one knows. _I'm_ not even supposed to know." Hay Lin gasped.

"I feel so trusted."

"You can't tell anyone. Okay?"

"Okay." Hay Lin nodded "Ya know, if you can learn how to do dishes."

"What?" Chris asked. Hay Lin smiled.

"It's called black mail. See, I have baggage and you're a young man who has enough time to work for a woman with high standards." Chris looked at her, not understanding.

"You want me to work at the Silver Dragon?"

"Yeah." Hay Lin smiled "And if not…Well, let's see how long I can keep your secret."

* * *

M.Y.T.H.S. went to the Silver Dragon that day at four o'clock. Yolanda had to sneak out (SNEAK OUT! The nerve of fathers.) But Miranda just had to take cookies. (Her mom needs therapeutic help.)

It was only until four thirty when fists started flying. Selena, Hailey and Tayler tugged the girls apart as Hay Lin enter the dining section of the restaurant.

"What are you two doing?" Chris asked shocked

"Working out anger!" Miranda called never taking her eyes off of the tall brunette. Yolanda sneered.

"I already told you Strawberry Short Cake _I didn't publish the paper_."

"Yeah, 'cause I'm going to believe anything _you_ say." Miranda snarled back. Yolanda scoffed.

"Please, I have a boyfriend who will listen to _everything_." Miranda launched herself back at Yolanda ready to pounce when Selena grabbed her.

"Can you two stop fighting for five minutes?" Hailey yelled

"Yeah," Tayler agreed "That's all you guys do and we have bigger things to worry about. We can't even escape from a prison cell without outside help and all you two do is make it worse." Selena dropped Miranda back on the floor and while Miranda and Yolanda still glared, they didn't speak.

"We need to get along with one another. Then we can fight with one another and we can win. But we can't do any of that if you're too busy trying to keep some jock."

"Derik's more than just 'some jock', okay?" Miranda defended. Yolanda said nothing, looking down at her nails. Miranda scoffed to herself. _She doesn't even like him, only his popularity._

No more words about Derik were spoken as the girls practiced until late.

* * *

"You think we can talk?" Derik asked silently, leaning on a locker. Yolanda looked at her bruised eye in her locker mirror. She had managed to successfully cover it with make-up Danielle had bought her. Her new step mom was such a kiss up.

"We're talking now." She said not taking an eye off of her reflection. About four Raiders, including Bree, stood by her. Selena watched from a small distance away. She knew Derik had tried talking to Yolanda in private but he couldn't see her while she was out because she was under house arrest.

"In private." Derik said uncomfortably. Yolanda shrugged.

"Babe, anything you say to me you can say it in front of my friends." The Raiders leaned in listening closely. Selena smiled.

"Okay…I'm dumping you." Yolanda finally looked up from her mirror and slammed the locker closed.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm dumping you." He said again. She stood there in shock. Derik actually smiled from the look on her face- but then he stopped cause it felt mean. "You know, breaking up with you?"

"I know what it means!" Yolanda yelled. "This is because of that freak isn't it?"

"Miranda's not a freak." Derik snapped back. "If anything you are. Judging other people whenever you're not oh-so-perfect either; you're such a hypocrite!" Yolanda glared.

"Fine! We're over!"

"I already said that!"

"Bastard!"

"Bitch!" Derik snarled back before turning and walking away. The whole hallway was silent, no one dared to talk. But Selena couldn't help it. She was so happy and the situation was so laughable so that's what she did. She laughed.

And once she started she couldn't stop, no matter how many Raiders glared. And soon, the entire hallway was laughing with her. Yolanda took one look at the laughing crowd before stomping away making Selena laugh harder.

"Wait," Derik showed up beside Selena. "I'm gonna need your help again." Selena was still laughing but she nodded. _Best day ever._

* * *

"Selena!" Tayler raced down the halls calling out the girl's name. She found her at the water fountain and grabbed her. Tayler never stopped so Selena was pulled into a run with her former best friend.

"Where are we going?" Selena asked wiping water from her chin. "I have to be somewhere after school."

"It'll only take half an hour."

"What?" Tayler pulled Selena into the gym where about ten other students stood laughing and joking around. "What is this exactly?"

"Halloween Dance committee." Tayler smiled. Selena smiled back.

"Ohhhhh." Selena nodded in understanding before turning back around and dashing for the door. Tayler caught her quickly, turning her back around and acting as if nothing happened.

"You're gonna love it. Besides, there was this guy I ran into when I signed us up for it-"

"Us?"

"And he was _totally_ sexy. What was his name…Ryan, maybe?" Selena looked at her exasperated.

"Why are you doing this?" Tayler wrapped an arm around Selena.

"Making up for lost time." Selena suddenly got it. Tayler felt guilty for ditching her back in the fifth grade. And the gesture was sweet but Selena didn't need to be forced into some dance committee.

"Listen, Tayler, I know we haven't talked as much as we used to, but-." Tayler raised a hand.

"Selena, we haven't talked period. Now we'll get to know each other all over again and- Oh my God that's Ryan…or was it Raymond?"

"Tayler, really, I-." Tayler grabbed Selena's face by the cheeks and made her focus on a boy holding a ladder while somebody else climbed to put up streamers. He had light brown hair and hazel eyes with tan skin and Tayler was right- he was _very _sexy. "Holy Mother of Sexy."

"That's what I said." Tayler sighed. The two girls stared after him while the boy climbed down. "Let's say hi." Tayler smiled leading the way.

The boy looked up and waved.

"Hey, Tayler." He smiled remembering her name from when they first met at a sign up board.

"Hey…"

"Riley." He supplied with a smile.

"Hey Riley." Both the girls slurred. _He is so gorgeous it hurts._ Tayler thought. And then Selena **heard** it in her head, which creeped her out.

"So, um, this is my friend Selena." Riley looked into Selena's eyes and smiled.

"Uh, hey."

"Yeah, hey." Riley stared; Selena stared back.

"I…like your headband." Selena touched the pink accessory she'd been wearing since the 7th grade.

"No, you don't; nobody likes the head band." She laughed. He smiled.

"Well, I do." Selena blushed. Tayler looked between the two as they continued to smile at one another. She tugged on Selena's arm.

"Will you excuse us?" Tayler didn't wait for an answer as she walked out of ear rang. "Did you see that? That was flirting! He was flirting with you! About the band on your head!"

"I know, I was there!" Selena yelled back. "Maybe he just flirts with everybody?"

"Well he didn't flirt with me." Tayler grumbled looking at him as he held the ladder steady. She watched as Selena stared at her new crush. "Selena and Riley, sittin' in a tree…"

"I'd sit in a tree all day with that boy." Selena sighed. And she would have too. If she didn't promise to help another boy who had another ladder.

* * *

"Miranda?" Derik whispered for the thousandth time. "Miranda?" Finally the window opened to a wide-eyed small girl. Her hair was wet as if she'd just got out the shower and clung to her cheeks.

"Derik, what the hell are you doing outside my parent's window; my mom was about to call the cops!"

"_Parent's_ window?" Miranda nodded. "But…" Derik looked down to the blushing thirteen-year-old.

"Sorry," Selena whispered from the bottom of the ladder. "Wrong window." He rolled his eyes before looking back up.

"I had to tell you I'm sorry."

"And the front door was out of the question because…" Miranda supplied. Derik blushed.

"Um, I was trying to be memorable?" Miranda raised an eyebrow and almost smiled before she realized she was supposed to be mad at him. She crossed her arms and gave him a menacing look.

"I guess I was wrong for thinking you were different than all the other jerks at school."

"I am different." Derik said offended. Miranda scoffed.

"Please, as soon as we had a real conversation you ran to your girlfriend to give her the news."

"_Ex_-girlfriend," Derik corrected. Miranda softened.

"You broke up with Yolanda?" she asked failing to hide her happiness. Derik smiled.

"Yeah, turns out she's kind of a bitch." Miranda nodded.

"I completely agree."

"She snuck in to school early and heard our conversation." Derik explained. "I didn't know she was blackmailing you."

"How'd you find out?" Miranda asked curiously. Derik sheepishly looked down at the small girl who he thought was holding the ladder but was sitting under the trunk of a tree laughing and smiling at a Game Boy which she was playing with animatedly. Derik rolled his eyes and looked back up at Miranda's suddenly closer form. She was leaning against the window still trying to get a better look at her friend who was enjoying a little kid game _way_ too much. "She's a little…"

"Yeah." Derik summed

"Mm-hm" Miranda agreed

"I noticed." Miranda's cheeks burned once she realized that they were running out of things to talk about and Derik's face was getting closer to hers.

"You know," she pointed out once she thought he was close enough. "You've been apologizing to me since we met."

"I know," he stated back "And I don't know why due to the fact _you_ ran into _me_ that first day."

"So you always remind me." Miranda smiled. _He's gonna kiss me._ Miranda thought as he leaned in closer. This was going to be it; her first kiss and she wasn't even prepared. She was in her PJ's for Christ's sakes! But it didn't matter as her eyes drifted closed and she felt his warmth growing as he got closer.

Then, "_**MIRANDA**_**, is that creepy kid at the window gone yet**?!" Grace Yale screamed from downstairs. "Are you okay?! Do I need to call the police?" Miranda angrily sucking in a deep breath of air, looked up to God to help, and yelled back down.

"No, Mom, it's cool!" Miranda wanted the moment to go on as if nothing had happened but it was clear the moment was over, as proven by the fact Derik had back away.

"Are you sure?" Grace called back up. "He's not a rapist, is he?" Derik stumbled in surprise causing the ladder to fall from beneath him. Miranda gasped and grabbed the boy and somehow managed to catch him before he fell or before he got too low. Derik exclaimed while Miranda watched him dangle helplessly wondering how she was managing to hold him while her upper body strength was terrible. "Do you have your pepper spray?"

Miranda didn't reply to her mother's paranoid call. Instead, she looked down and saw her friend's eyes wide, toy on the ground and hands out in front of her keeping Derik from falling and a ladder from landing on top of her. Miranda looked back at Derik and wished with all her might he didn't look down.

"Wow," Derik gasped. "You're stronger than you look." Miranda shrugged.

"Hey, any chance you wanna come inside for a cookie?"

**AN: So I had this chapter done about a week ago whenever I **_**wasn't**_** so sick I was banned from school but now due to a button that **_**says**_** save but definitely **_fails to save_** I'm here with a head ache, bloody nose, shivers and Get Well Soon texts. But bright side? I'm updating all my stories! And my Thanksgiving Break has been extended about four days!**

**Hope you guys liked this longer chapter and I plan on updating again later, maybe Thursday if not tomorrow. Thanks for reading!**

**R&R please!**


	11. 10: Spies and Stalkers

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 10: Spies and Stalkers**

* * *

"They are coming into their powers quite destructively." Said an elder in a long dark robe watching the girls through a wall mirror. The five of them were yelling, about something stupid no doubt, and two specifically were clawing at one another, the others trying to pry them apart.

Well, not one of the girls. A small one with light colored brown hair and wide blue eyes was sitting in a booth at whatever restaurant they were in and reading from a book, immensely entertained.

"Are we sure _these_ are the girls of legend?" asked another elder, squinting his eyes as one of the girls gave up trying to hold the other one back and let her fly into the fight easily before realizing what she'd just done and grabbing the girl again.

"I do agree; the girls seem quite… detrimental this time around." Said the first elder to the group. They stood tall over the mirror and simultaneously looked back down at the glass where one of the girls- a red head- started holding off the fight and texting at the same time. "We should keep a close eye on them."

"Excuse me, elder." Said a student who was standing behind them. "I thought our job was to kill them, not make sure they're coming into their powers correctly."

"True," the elder replied "But it always is nice to know your opponents' tactics before you beat them at their own game."

"So what's our plan?" asked another elder who was becoming tired of watching the girl's antics.

"We separate them, then attack." Replied yet another. "Look at them, it can't be that hard."

"He's got a point, not to mention we already have a spy inside their school."

"Yes, how is the student we sent?"

"I am fine." The mentioned student replied, suddenly appearing. The elders looked to the young boy startled, as they had not noticed he'd come in. Some bowed in respect while the rest simply nodded, for they were in the presence of royalty. The boy nodded back but other than this, nothing differed in the air. "Although I am unsure of what exactly it is you want me to do."

"Separate them." The elder answered clearly. Another rolled his eyes under the hood of his robe.

"As if the task were difficult."

"I agree." Riley stated with a nod before checking his watch. The elders watched him boredly. "I guess it's time for school."

* * *

"I'm confused; isn't fried chicken an American dish if anything?" Selena asked before taking a large chunk out of her chicken and munching on it gleefully. Miranda turned the thought over in her head for a while before shrugging and sending Derik a look of confusion as well who was sitting beside her in the booth at The Silver Dragon.

"Well, I mean, how can we be positively sure who invented the fried chicken?" Derik countered back, munching on his own food as well.

"You can't 'invent' fried chicken. It's more like thinking up the idea." Miranda pointed out before scooping up rice and eating. After she had finished swallowing she looked up at her two friends sadly. "I miss eating lunch with you guys; we should leave campus for lunch more often."

"I'm guessing by 'we' you mean once you come back to Sheffield." Selena muttered looking at her chicken with interest. Miranda sent her a small glare before turning to Derik.

"I can't believe I got suspended a whole week just for one punch but Yolanda gets to ruin my life and spend a day out for it."

"Yeah," Derik agreed. "It's more of a vacation than punishment." Just as Miranda was about to reply a 15-year-old boy walked up to their table, an apron around his waist and sat down next to Selena in the booth. He tiredly rested his head on her shoulder and yawned.

"Hello, friends." Chris smiled cheekily. Derik's eyes widened.

"Um…_who_ are you exactly?" Derik asked him weirded out someone, much more a waiter, would just walk up to their table, sit and start talking. Miranda snickered.

"Derik, this is our friend Chris. Chris this is our friend Derik."

"Oh my God," Selena smiled trying to contain her laughter. "You _work_ here now?"

"Don't mock." Chis grumbled agitatedly "I have to blend in."

"Why?" Derik asked curiously. Chris mentally cringed before trying to come up with an excuse.

"New in town, just need some friends, I guess." Derik nodded. "Speaking of which I'm starting at Sheffield next week."

"No way!" Miranda gasped. "Our Sheffield? But…why?"

"Because I need to go to school." Chris rolled his eyes before closing them, about to fall into slumber on Selena's shoulder. She would have shrugged him off but something about the gesture seemed warm.

"But you're fifteen. High school." Miranda pointed out. Chris glared.

"I failed." The three (including Selena) knew it was a lie but Derik just nodded as failing was common in their school system."

"Speaking of new kids." Selena said after sipping on her Sprite. "Has anyone noticed Riley?" Whenever she said his name she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Miranda who made the gesture back humorously.

"No but I've heard talk. Tayler told me he's in Dance Committee."

"Yep, and so am I." Selena sighed "But only so I can look at him. I just like to _look_ at him."

"You guys are weird." Derik mumbled looking away from Selena's awestruck face and sipping his drink.

"This Riley guy sounds uninteresting." Chris muttered. Miranda smiled.

"Oh, jealous?" she mocked. Chris snorted in reply.

"You wish, short stuff." Miranda huffed at the nick name.

"Has anyone ever stopped to think maybe you're all just tall freaks and I am of average height?"

"No." The other three chorused from the table.

* * *

"His name's Chris." Hay Lin informed Terranee.

"Chris what?" Hay Lin shuffled in her chair and avoided eye contact from her friend. "Hay? What's his last name?" Hay Lin turned back with a fait smile.

"Oh, um, Ramento." Terranee nodded suspiciously before entering the last name into the computer database. And then she stopped, realizing what she was witnessing.

"No way." She gasped. "No _way_."

"You can't tell her, not Selena, not anybody, I promised! You need to change it to something, anything!" Hay Lin said quickly. Terranee nodded before once again staring at the screen in wonder. Terranee typed then was silent and after they'd calmed down Hay Lin took a sip from her drink.

"Selena…Irma's daughter?" Terranee asked hands frozen over the key board as Hay Lin did a spit take. The water crash landed on the carpet, dampening it. "Oh! Hay, I just had those done!"

"Selena's…_Irma's_ daughter?" Terranee rolled her eyes.

"Did you miss the facts right in front of your face. Same hair color, same eye color, same last name."

"Coincidence. Not to mention the fact they act _nothing_ alike." Terranee shrugged.

"You never know." she said once again typing Chris' profile into the computer. "A kid can act one way at home but once they're in school, in front of their friends, they can be a completely different person. Take us at thirteen for example. I don't know about you, but my mom would've freaked if she figured out I went out of country, nevertheless, planet just about once a week, every week." Hay Lin let the information sink in before thanking her friend and walking out the door.

* * *

"This place is weird." Chris stated glaring at students on the grey Monday morning. MYTHS stood on either side of him, Miranda taking the farthest spot from Yolanda who was doing the same.

Miranda had no idea how that picture in Selena's book had Yolanda and Miranda standing so close looking so happy whenever Miranda hated Yolanda with every fiber in her being.

"You spend 15 ½ years on a planet where the rulers have horns made out of ivory and skin the color of Neptune but going to a New York public school is weird?" Hailey asked incredibly.

"Very," Chris replied in a low grumble. The six teens made their way down the hall dragging their feet with bags under their eyes. "I can't believe I had to wake up at six in the morning for _this_."

"Five days a week, every week for 32 weeks. Enjoy." Taylor smiled waving a cup of coffee. Taylor was actually smiling this morning as opposed to every other person in the school, including the teachers.

"What makes _you_ so perky?" Hailey asked snidely. She'd spent all night in the hospital waiting with her parents for more news about the baby.

It wasn't going well.

"Actors wake up around this time every morning or earlier to make it to set, especially with all the traffic. My body is used to it."

"My coffee's cold." Yolanda complained, holding out her cup to Tayler who shrugged and heated it to where it began steaming and bubbling. Miranda scolded at them at once.

"Not in public!"

"Oh, lighten up, will you? It's not like there's a thousand people around we're here early, the bell rings in 15 minutes." Yolanda rolled her eyes. "Besides, shouldn't you be in a tutoring session with your precious Derik?"

Miranda scoffed before lifting her head up high and sticking out her tongue. "You're right." She said coldly before marching to her class. "I should." Tayler smiled and grabbed Selena's hand before rushing off.

"Where are you two going?" Hailey asked

"Dance Committee, gotta go stare at Ryan!"

"Riley." Selena corrected.

"Oh, who cares?" The two girls were around the corner in less than a second and only Yolanda noticed Chris's look after them in disappointment. Hailey slowly began to trudge away.

"Where are you going?" Yolanda asked, annoyed everyone was leaving. Hailey raised her eyebrow as if to ask 'Since when do you care?'

"Mila, Nila, and I are discussing strategies."

"For what?" Yolanda asked

"My failing plan to get Brian to fall for me. So far he _has _fallen though…but more in the 'rotfl' type of way than in love." Hailey then walked off, not waiting for a reply from Yolanda who realized that all the girls in MYTHS seemed to dislike her.

"Oh, well, bye Wendy."

"It's Hailey." She called back drearily.

"I know." Yolanda pouted. "It's a nick name."

"A completely stereotypical nickname, yes." Hailey growled before marching off to the Mock Trial room. Yolanda stared woefully at her retreating form and realized she was all alone with a barely healing black eye and a boy who was clearly only here for Selena.

Well, that was something to talk about.

"So, are you in mad love with Ms. Pink Headband?"

"Who?" Chris asked back confusedly before leaning against a locker and sliding to the floor. His eyelids began to droop.

"Ya know, Smellena."

"Stop calling her that, it makes you sound like a bitch." Yolanda's eyes widened at Chris's sudden hostility towards her. She was forced together with these people yet none of them thought that getting to know her, or at least like her, was a requirement. Yolanda shook her head, her brown waves flying around her angelic face, to shake out the thought.

"Selena, you like her, right?" Chris didn't answer which made Yolanda upset. _Did he fall asleep?_ She thought hotly. She kicked him lightly with her ballet flats and asked again. "Do you like Selena?"

"Well of course I like her."

"No, moron-." Yolanda shook her head again. "I mean, as is, like-like her. Ya know, do you wanna be her boyfriend or something?" Yolanda knew this would have to be a no because why would Chris waste his good looks on _Selena_ whenever she was standing there perfectly single? She also knew her and Chris getting together would be an easy way to recover at school due to the fact Derik broke up with her, half of her class now thought of her as even _more_ bitchy than she was before and Chris was h-o-t hot.

"No, that's disgusting." Chris said tiredly. Yolanda mentally cringed. _Oh, well, don't sugar coat it._ Chris must've opened his eyes and saw her expression because he quickly added, "Not that she's not pretty, because she is. It's just…Nevermind."

"Oh, you did _not_ just pull a 'Nevermind' on _me_." Yolanda accused going to ground level to look into his eyes.

"I didn't what?" he asked, Yolanda could already tell he was starting to drift into dreamy land and not come back out until the harsh 8 o'clock bell shoved him out. If she wanted to hear this secret, she had to get it now.

"Why don't you like Selena? Is there something going on with her? Is she on drugs? Did she tell you something?..," Yolanda went on, listing possibilities to reasons why Chris wouldn't like Selena and honestly there were a lot of them. She was on reason number 19 whenever Chris mumbled it out.

Yolanda paused, mouth still open and eyes wide. "Wait, _what_?" Chris didn't repeat it, he only started to snore softly, resting his head on the painted lockers. Yolanda scoffed, amazed. "Oh my God." She smiled. _Gossip Points._

* * *

Chris was introduced in every class and Yolanda shared just about all of them with him so she had to endure all the girl's sighs and all the boy's eye rolls as the teacher said, "Class, this id Chris Raines, a new student at Sheffield. Please, make him feel welcome."

Yolanda had been thinking about it all day, the secret Chris blurted out that she knew she was most definitely not supposed to hear. Chris appears to not have noticed he said it as he treated her the same as always and didn't mention it once.

It was eating up her insides, the power the few words Chris had said to her. She pondered on telling Selena, Miranda, Hay Lin, anybody that would listen really until a thought struck on how she could use it to her advantage.

Chris was getting eaten up by the girls. Yolanda had overheard the Raiders babbling about his ocean blue eyes at the table while she was chatting with Bree and Brooke. Even in the hallways on her way to class, she laughed when a girl cornered him and forced him into letting her be his guide until he knew where all his classes were.

Chris was highly sought after, not just by all the female (and some male) students at Sheffield, but by Yolanda. She needed him to regain her social status and get her previews to all the highlights she once had. (And that was just one problem she was facing ad her father _still_ wouldn't let her touch her own wallet.)

So, as soon as the last bell rung Yolanda followed him out of class. They were in the same last block which made it easy to shove past a couple of girls who were probably planning on stalking him home and pull him to a stop at the Dance Committee poster.

There was still a sign-up sheet even though the club had already started, apparently only about ten people signed up. The closest date was that day after school. _Perfect._

"Ya know, Selena's in this group." Yolanda pointed out. She noticed angry pairs of eyes from every girl in the hall way. They all glared because they knew that no one could deny Yolanda Parkers.

Well, apparently no one but Chris Raines.

"So?" Chris asked, clearly not caring.

"Well, I mean, it's Selena. Don't you want to spend as much time as you can with her?" Chris looked thoughtful for a moment before narrowing his eyes at Yolanda.

"What do you know that you aren't telling me?"

"Nothing you don't know yourself." Yolanda shrugged smugly, looking down the hallway trying to convey her expression as being bored.

She was standing with her back against the wall the poster was on, her foot kicked up on the wall while Chris stood over her, looking down at her wearily.

"Let me guess, you're gonna black mail me too about this, right?"

"What?" Yolanda asked innocently. "Why would I- wait, who else _knows_?"

"Hay Lin. You can't tell anyone, okay? Don't go spreading it like you do everything else."

"Okay, _why_ are you being so mean to me? What is it I've done to you?" Yolanda asked angrily

"Well, you and your friends are jerks." Chris pointed out. Yolanda growled.

"You've been hanging out with _her_ haven't you?"

"'Her' name's Miranda." Chris scoffed. "And she told me about all the shit you've done to her and Selena and it isn't cool."

"Fine, how about this. I'll keep your secret _and _lay off your precious Miranda," Yolanda did an eye roll at the end while Chris anticipated the blackmail once again. "But only if you sign up for Dance Committee with me."

"I'm sorry, what?" Chris was expecting something along the lines of 'be my slave for a week' but the task she asked him to complete was too easy. "What are you getting at?"

"I wanted to sign up but I'd be all alone, I need one friend there, right?" Chris sighed.

"Oh, so, you'll keep my secret if I turn into one of your little followers?"

"No, I'll keep your secret if you stop being such a dick." Yolanda said casually, signing the poster with her pink pen. She poked him with it and waved it in front of his face. "We have a deal?"

He looked down at her suspiciously before signing the poster, trying to get over the feeling that he was signing over his soul to the devil.

* * *

**AN: Wow, this chapter went longer than I thought it would be. It was seriously supposed to be the shortest one in here but now I think it's the longest in terms of how many words it has.**

**Well, don't forget, more reviews, faster updates. And if you want to know Chris's secret and _spoil the fun_, you should go through the reviews because I promise you, a lot of you guys will have figured it out by now. I've even seen about two or three that have gotten **_**really**_** close to it.**

**Anyways, I hope you like it!**

_~ Wynn-J_

_P.S. I would love it if you guys would check out Generation, _an awesometastic writer_, and I's new story titled _Good and Right_ on Fiction Press .com. You can find a link to my other profile page on FictionPress to read _Good and Right_ on my, well, profile page._

_Thank you!_


	12. 11: Improving Silence

** MYTHS  
**** By: Wynn-J  
**** Chapter 11: Improving Silence**

* * *

"So where are you from again?" Selena asked curiously. She and Riley sat in Dance Committee painting one of the arches that were to be hung at every door.

"Florida," he shrugged, he lazily dragged the blue paint brush down the side of wood. Selena looked him up and down again, mentally sighed at his beauty, then said,

"You don't look like someone from Florida." Riley raised an eyebrow and pretended to be hurt.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, mocking offense. Selena smiled down at her slowly moving brush and felt the blood run to her cheeks.

"I don't know, I mean…" she searched her thoughts quickly. "Aren't you supposed to be tan?" Riley looked down at his skin with a frown.

"I'm tan." He countered back

"Not really." Selena shook her head, her brown hair flying. Riley let the topic go.

"So what about you?" he asked, determined to get to know his subject. He needed the information, he wasn't exactly curious. Selena seemed to be the friendliest of the five girls he needed to get information on. All Riley needed to do was smile or say something nice and she and Tayler would tell him anything he needed to know.

_Clueless,_ He thought.

"What _about_ me?" Selena immediately became completely concentrated in her painting. She was hoping this conversation between her and Riley would let her know more about him, not the other way around.

Riley smiled, "You live in New York your whole life?" Selena shook her head, her wild brown hair flying around once again.

"When I was younger my mom and I moved around a lot." Selena shrugged. Riley nodded as if this were useful information whenever he seriously didn't need to know this at all, nor did her care. He needed to dig deeper.

"Where are places you've been?" Selena shuffled in her seat, as if this were now uncomfortable.

"Um, I stayed with my dad a little whenever he and my mom were still together but they were never married and we left."

"Left?" Selena looked at the tearing seems of her converse.

"He went to work one day and we packed up in a hurry and drove. I don't really remember it or anything because, um, well there was this...thing."

"Thing?" Riley asked, now curious. This could be useful information, whatever this thing was. Maybe even enough to rip the girls apart, then his mission would be done and he could go home to Meridian like he wanted.

His father had forced him to come here, so he could follow in the footsteps of his brother, obviously his father's, the _king's_, favorite child, not to mention Guardian Officer. It was his brother's job to make sure the guardians didn't learn too much about the new Meridian. The Meridian run by the _rightful_ rulers of the throne, like Phobos intended.

Selena was now glaring at her shoes, having never told her story to anyone. She had no idea why she was saying it all to Riley, not Miranda or Chris, the two people she'd become closest to since she had finally gotten friends.

"Well, we were in the car and it was snowing a-and we didn't have good tires and-."

"Selena?" Chris had suddenly appeared beside her and, after giving Riley a slight glare, sat in between the two of them. "How's it going?" Selena, immediately pleased by Chris's appearance, smiled.

"Chris this is Riley, Riley, this is Chris."

"Hey," Riley smiled slightly and held out his hand. Chris looked at it before turning his back to the boy and focusing on Selena. Riley awkwardly took back the hand and ran it through his tousled hair.

"I don't think you should hang out with him." Chris said

"Who?" Selena asked curiously. "Riley? Naw, he's harmless."

"How do you know?"

"Because not everyone is trying to murder me." Selena rolled her eyes.

"How do you know?" Chris asked once again. Selena laughed before raising her eyebrow.

"Are you telling me you honestly think Riley would have a chance against me if it came to that?" Riley immediately looked offended.

"I'm right here, you know?" he asked. The two teens ignored him.

"I don't know why you're acting so weird. Why are you being so overbearing?"

"Why are you so clueless?" Selena looked at her friend with a scowl.

"What are you saying, am I not allowed to talk to anyone outside from you and Myths?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. We need to find out who we can and cannot trust."

"Once again, I am **still** here." Riley stated before rolling his eyes and leaving the arguing friends alone. As soon as he stood Tayler rushed over to him and walked behind him. Riley hadn't even noticed she was stalking him until she poked him in the side and walked past him causally as if nothing had happened. "Um, ow?"

"Hello to you too." She said seductively. Riley raised an eyebrow at her.

"Is this going to be like the time you purposely ran into me at full speed, knocking me to the ground before saying 'Oh, sorry, hi my name is Tayler'?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Tayler said seriously before grabbing his arm and walking him over to another section of the gymnasium. "So, what do you think would be the perfect color scheme for a wedding…hypothetically of course."

* * *

Tayler angrily stomped down the busy streets of New York jabbing at her phone trying to text the rest of MYTHS that she'd be late. Of course, that's when she realized she had none of their numbers and huffed.

None of this would have happened if Chris, Selena and Yolanda hadn't abandoned her at dance Committee. They were going to be working on their weak points as a group today at The Silver Dragon and Tayler felt like she already knew the first point to bring up.

_During battle, make sure you don't _abandon your team_ at the site. Try carpooling to avoid this!_

She honestly didn't know why Yolanda had bothered joining Dance Committee anyways. Sure, Chris was acceptable, after all, it seemed he and Selena were joined at the hip. Whenever one went, the other was sure to follow. She subconsciously wondered why that was before getting distracting by a blinding light coming out of the ally she was passing by.

_Just keep walking._ She said to herself. _Mom said rapists are using new maneuvers these days, especially in New York._

But still, she couldn't help glancing to at least see what was actually going on behind the large dumpster and she was glad she did.

A small portal, roughly the size of a book shelf opened behind a pile of rubbish, swirling in all its blue and strangely horrific glory. Tayler immediately freaked out -which no one reacted too greatly, as it was New York after all- and dashed to The Silver Dragon at an exhilarating pace, not noticing the creature crawl out from the ally.

* * *

"So, have you talked to Yolanda lately?" Miranda asked Derik where they sat at The Silver Dragon as he fiddled with his straw. Training was supposed to start thirty minutes ago but no one knew where Tayler was. He looked up at her curiously.

"I don't know, if you had a crazy-ass ex would _you_ be eager to make conversation the first time you saw her?" Miranda threw the paper to her straw at his face which he easily ducked. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's just she seems…different now I guess."

"Different? Different how?" Derik asked suspiciously. Miranda shook her head.

"She's just…trying to be nicer, I guess." It came out sounding like a question so Miranda tried again. "She was trying to make conversation with me a couple times today. Not in public, of course, but in general." Derik shook his head violently.

"No, okay? No."

"No what?" Miranda asked

"Look, I know it's your nature to always give people chances and be nice and everything but Yolanda is bad news. You shouldn't hang out with her, she's evil. How many times does she have to prove that to you?" Miranda shrugged.

"It's not like you were the nicest kid on the playground when we met but here we sit. Best friends." Derik gave her a funny look and she chuckled.

"What? I recall being the perfect gentlemen. I even tried to help you up when you _ran me over_ but your pride was too injured to take my hand." Miranda scoffed in reply.

"Please! You were just about to call me a bitch!"

"Which you would have rightfully deserved noting how, once again, you _ran me over_."

"I was having a bad morning that day." Miranda recalled, thinking about how her first day of school was basic torture.

"Ah, yes, the History incident." Miranda's face instantly became red.

"People still talk about that?" she asked embarrassedly. Derik leaned back in his seat nonchalantly.

"Indeed my short friend, indeed." Miranda ignored the short comment.

"All I did was go into the wrong class. It's perfectly normal." Derik shrugged. There was a comfortable silence among the two of them as they both sipped their drinks. Then Derik coughed.

"So, um, what are you doing the night of the dance?" Miranda's heart fluttered and she wanted to thrust herself at him and scream _I'll totally go with you!_ Even though he really didn't ask.

"Going to the dance…" She shrugged. Derik nodded.

"Oh, yeah, of course, duh." Miranda nodded. Derik nodded. They both sipped their drinks. "Well, are you doing anything _after_ the dance?" Miranda shrugged.

"Selena and I were thinking about coming back here to get something to eat, maybe have a sleepover or something."

"Oh that's cool. The eating thing, not the sleepover thing. Well, you know, I guess sleepovers are cool. I mean, it's not like I have anything against sleeping over. What has a sleeping bag done to me? Well, ultimately, what I guess I mean to say is-."

"Do you wanna eat maybe? You know, after the dance or something?" Miranda honestly just wanted him to shut up, not that it wasn't cute when he rambled but it was getting out of hand. Derik paused and Miranda immediately covered. "I mean, not like a date or anything like that."

"Yeah, totally not like a date." Derik agreed. Miranda agreed with his agreement. Derik nodded. Miranda nodded. Both sipped from their drinks.

They were saved from their uncomfortable silence whenever Tayler burst in from the October cold and shouted to the whole restaurant.

"RED ALERT, RED ALERT! Come on y'all, get off your lazy asses and get to the back room, I said red alert!" The customers looked at her like she was berserk but Yolanda, who had been sitting on the opposite side of the room texting, stood and silently made her way back along with Hailey who was reading from a book of incorrect direct-examination questions.

"I have to go." Miranda said, easing up from the table.

"What are you guys doing back their anyways?" Derik asked. Miranda immediately became stumped and Hailey and Yolanda had paused to trying to think of a cover.

"Girl problems." Tayler blurted before wrapping an arm around Miranda's shoulders. "We females deal with way too much for the Y chromosome to completely understand…or is it the X chromosome. Eh, I never paid attention in math." Miranda raised both eyebrows.

"You mean biology?"

"I take biology?" Tayler asked amazed then sighed. "You know, actually that makes a lot of sense now…" Derik rolled his eyes.

"I highly doubt there's anything you thirteen-year-old girls have gone through to make guys like me-." Hailey immediately interrupted him.

"Hey, guys, whenever it's, ya know, _that time_ is it regular to get bumps on my-."

"I'm gonna go, I have a lot of studying." Derik immediately began packing and trying to get out of the restaurant while customers looked at Hailey disgustedly. She only stuck out her tongue at them before crossing her arms and waiting impatiently for the tall soccer player to leave.

"And sometimes, I also get this feeling-." She continued.

"Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah." Derik shoved his fingers in his ears and began running for the front doors along with most of the eaters.

"We hoped you enjoyed your dinner!" Hailey yelled after them. Tayler laughed goofily before smiling crazily at the leaving guests.

"Y'all come back now, ya hear?" They couldn't have left sooner.

* * *

"It was right here, I swear it!" Tayler yelled amicably pointing to a pile of trash in the dark alley. "I was all," Tayler mimicked walking down the side walk. "And it was all," Tayler then sung loudly trying to imitate the sound on TV shows whenever the light shines down on someone from above. "And then I was all," Tayler mimicked looking into the alley confusedly. "And it was all," And finally, Tayler made crazy, obnoxious sounds.

The rest of MYTHS and Hay Lin all looked at the thirteen year old worriedly.

"You know," Yolanda said in the new quiet. "I do believe there's an asylum down town for people who act like this on a regular basis…" Tayler glared at the perfect-looking girl, even in the dim light of a lamp post.

"Yolanda, please, only speak when you can improve the silence." Yolanda stayed quiet, not snapping back a reply much to Miranda's confusion.

"There's no portal." Hailey stated as if no one else could figure out this information by looking down.

"You don't say?" Tayler asked sarcastically. "It _was_ here and something may have even came out of it."

"Did you _see_ something come out?" Hay Lin asked.

"Well, no, not exactly but-."

"There was no alerts from the book." Selena pointed out, holding the large old book in her hands.

"Or from the map." Hay Lin said before yawning.

"It's kinda late." Miranda pointed out.

"Yeah," Selena agreed. "I better go before mom calls the NYPD." Hay Lin laughed uneasily.

"Yeah, moms. They're so…momish." Selena looked up at the air guardian with a raised eyebrow.

"I agree." Selena was about to march off with Miranda towards her house before Hay Lin stopped her.

"Your mom," she said. "She doesn't…talk about me or anything?"

"You know my mom?" Selena asked shocked

"Oh no." Hay Lin scoffed, waving a hand. "Not at all. I just wanted to know if I should send her Silver Dragon coupons."

"Oh, yeah, totally. We could use them." Selena smiled thankfully thinking of the nights she had to go to sleep after eating cereal. "Bye guys."

Hay Lin was the only one who said it back while the rest of the group just grunted generally in her direction. Selena shifted on her feet uncomfortably before joining Miranda on the side walk and walking away.

Hay Lin growled.

"You all need to lean to get along." Grunts. "I mean it." Grunts. Hey Lin huffed and rolled her eyes while sending up a prayer.

"Tayler you must be one crazy bitch." Yolanda said, crossing her arms. "There is absolutely no evidence of a portal…Are you screwing with us?"

"Yolanda," Tayler mimed zipping her lips and throwing away a key. "You, Silence. Not improving." Yolanda scowled but otherwise remained quiet.

"She does have a point." Hailey said. "There's nothing here. Maybe it was a trick of the light. Or you just need sleep. Or your imaginations run wild. Or-."

"Thank you," Tayler said annoyed. "No really, I'll keep this all in mind for the next time I see floating objects and hear the voices of dead children."

"Asylum," Yolanda coughed violently. Tayler glared at her. Yolanda shut up. Tayler left the girl alone, stomping down the street towards her home.

"Fine!" she yelled back. "Don't believe me! But if there's so spy or something who sneaks into the night to come and slit your throat don't come crying to me."

Yolanda wanted to say that if you got your throat slit, there was probably no way you could cry as you'd be dead in a matter of seconds. Or that Tayler was being completely unrealistic. But instead she just muttered a good bye to Hailey and Hay Lin who both ignored her and trudged home.

* * *

"How was school?" Danielle asked Yolanda hopefully.

"Fine." Yolanda droned from her bed trying (unsuccessfully) to fall asleep. Danielle had tried to enter Yolanda's life ever since she was suspended.

"And your friends?" Danielle tried again.

"Fine."

"Your eye?"

"Fine."

"Eliza, are you even listening to me?"

"Fine- wait, don't call me that." Yolanda rolled over and turned away from her step mother. Danielle mentally screamed at the teenager's level of hatred against her but tried again.

"Your name is beautiful, I don't know why you don't like it."

"I like me name just fine."

"Then why don't you use it?" Yolanda ignored her. Danielle tried again. "Is Yolanda your middle name?" Yolanda shook her head. "Then who's Yolanda?"

"My mom." Yolanda said sadly. Yolanda didn't mean for it to come out as weak sounding as it did but she was tired from the walk home, and tired of trying to get MYTHS to like her more. She was tired enough to get emotional in front of the woman she hated. But it didn't really matter if her father was going to get a divorce in the next couple of months anyways so she continued. "It's not my mom's name but it's what she wanted to name me. Her mom wanted to name me Elizabeth so that's what her and my dad agreed on but she liked Yolanda. _I _like Yolanda." Danielle watched her step daughter silently.

"Do you miss her?" Yolanda wanted to gag her step mother wither 100% Egyptian cotton pillow for asking such a stupid question but instead she laid there.

"Yeah, I do." Yolanda turned again, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. "I killed her ya know? My dad doesn't like to admit it but I talked to the doctor. Her body was too weak and he suggested abortion but she said no. She just wanted to take the chance." Danielle exhaled. "I don't even know what she looks like."

Danielle reached over through the canopy, ready to rest her hand on her step daughter's shoulder. "Oh, honey, you didn't kill-."

"Can leave me alone?" Yolanda didn't say it meanly, just in a small, almost fragile voice. "I'm just really tired." Danielle took back her hand and stood.

"Of course." She walked to the door and turned off the light. "Good night, Yolanda." When Yolanda didn't reply, she turned off the lights and left.

And then Yolanda cried herself to sleep.

* * *

**AN: HAPPY NEW YEAR meh readers. Don't be afraid to type in your New Year's resolution in the review box. WOAH, guys, no joke, I just had a scarf tied to my head **_**really**_** tight and it kinda hurt so I untied it after a while and now it feels like my brain's asleep…That's probably really unhealthy.**

**ANYWAYS, I ask you all nicely to review about anything you're curious about. Why is Yolanda so bitchy? What's going on with Hailey's little sister? When will Derik grow a pair and ask Miranda out? What's Chris's secret (okay, I'm sure half of you all know by now)? What's up with Riley's suckish spy skills? What happened to Selena when she was younger? When will I get a life and stop talking to my computer (Literally, I've named it, or her... at least, I hope it's a her.)?**

**Will the world ever know?**

**Woah…my brain feels awesome right now…and weird….**

**Later, I'm gonna call a doctor.**

**See ya!**

_- Wynn-J_


	13. 12: Weird Jobs

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
C****hapter 12: Weird Jobs**

* * *

"Get up," David Parker commanded while tossing the covers off of his daughter. Yolanda grumbled and tossed in her bed. "Yolanda," he scolded

"Five more minutes," Yolanda begged from her bed, shielding her eyes as her father walked to the window and drew the curtains.

"No," he persisted. "You've been in bed all weekend, you need to get up."

"For what?" Yolanda asked, aggravated. It wasn't like she had somewhere to go or someone to meet. Brooke and Bree were being weird, talking to each other quietly and giving her strange looks. She'd expected these things from Brooke but Bree? Not to mention MYTHS hated her guts and Chris wasn't even close to liking her the way she needed him too.

"You're getting a job." That snapped Yolanda out of her sleepy state in a second. She looked at her father bewildered, her brown hair tangled and clinging to her cheeks from her non-stop crying the night before.

"I'm getting a _what_?"

"A job- have you been crying?" her father asked shocked. He'd rarely seen Yolanda show any emotion other than unimpressed, angered, or happy. And the last one was only when she got something she wanted.

"No," she said, frantically turning from her father and scrubbing her cheeks. She jumped out of her bed and ran to her bathroom to wash her face. She saw her father in the mirror watching her closely. She scowled at him before scrubbing harder at her face. "What?" she asked angrily.

Her father shook his head. "You do know if you ever need to talk-."

"Yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. What were you saying about a job?" David clearly wanted to talk to his daughter about why she was crying or what was wrong but instead he let her push him out like she usually did and answered her question.

"A deal. You said you wanted a costume to wear for your school's dance, correct." Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Yes, dad, correct." She cupped her hands under the chrome faucet to gather water and tossed it at her face. "Not that it matters since you took my wallet."

"How much did this costume cost?" Yolanda raised a perfect eyebrow at her father in the mirror. She almost told him she already had the costume, an old dress she'd found of her mother's only needing slight altercations but instead she only said,

"Two hundred?"

"Fine." Yolanda gasped.

"You'll give me the money?" she asked amazed. David shook his head at his daughter who just grumbled before walking past him back into her room and going to her closet to search for something to wear.

"I'll give you back your wallet," Yolanda looked at him with wide eyes. "If you earn the money for the costume yourself." Yolanda smiled. Sure, it was probably impossible to earn that much in time for the dance but by that time she'd have enough to fix her mother's dress and buy a mask.

"Really?" he nodded

"But your job must be in walking distance, as I can't drive you-,"

"Of course," Yolanda scoffed silently.

"And it can't be anything big. No factories or maid services." Yolanda looked at her father with disgust. _Maid service?_ She wanted to ask. _You don't know me at all._

Yolanda shook her head. "No maids of factories, right." She smiled brightly, already thinking of an idea. She picked out clothes and tossed them on the bed before going to grab a towel from the linens closet in the hall way to prepare for taking a shower.

Whenever she came back into the room her father was still there. She stared at him expectantly but he only flashed a manila envelope.

"Danielle wanted you to have this." Yolanda hoped the curiosity didn't show on her face as she wished to come off expressionless. It must have worked because her father huffed, "Really Yolanda, if you could just give her a chance…"

"Fine," she said dryly. "Can I take a shower now?" David exhaled deeply before dropping the envelope on her bed and walking out the door, closing it on his way.

Yolanda ran to her bed and ripped open the package, taking out a small slip of paper.

_Yolanda,_

_I found these around your father's room and in his computer._

_Your mother would want you to have them._

_Danielle_

Yolanda peered into the package and took out what seemed like a hundred photos. All of her mother.

Some were of her as a child, standing in between the same two boys who Yolanda didn't know. Sometimes making funny gestures or others with her arms on their shoulders. One of her being lifted into the air by both of them.

Some of her mother and father. Two even on their wedding day.

And one was just of her mother sitting on a swing that hung from the porch of a big white house. She smiled brightly, waving.

Her mother had the same curly brown hair and bright eyes. She was tall like Yolanda too.

Yolanda flipped to the back and saw it was only taken a couple years before she was born.

_Lacey, South Carolina._

_South Carolina?_ Yolanda thought. What the hell had her mom been doing there? As far as Yolanda knew, there was no reason to go down south. No parties, no relatives, they didn't even own a summer home in South Carolina, but in California.

Yolanda put the pictures back in the envelope and placed them back on the bed before thinking better of it. Her father was probably just as curious about what was in it and if he already knew, Yolanda knew there would be no way he'd given it to her.

Yolanda took her mother's pictures and went to her closet before burying it in a heap of clothes. For now, that was the best hiding place she could think of.

Then Yolanda went to the bathroom to prepare for her job.

_Ugh,_

* * *

Tayler woke up that Sunday morning in a blur. The house was trashed, and there was no food in the refrigerator. Angrily, she stomped into the living room where her brother lay on the couch deep in sleep, empty beer bottles on the floor from the night before.

"Jay," she said, hitting him awake.

"Wha?" he asked groggily before falling off the couch. Tayler sneered.

"Where's mom?"

"At work." _Of course_, Tayler thought, _Because she doesn't have a family here or anything._

"When will she be back?"

"I don't know." he mumbled trying to fall back to sleep. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

"It's Sunday." She dragged, crossing her arms. "There's nothing to eat."

"I know," The 17-year-old brother grumbled. "Hey, you're always at that Chinese place, you've gotta have a hook up. Get me some of their fired chicken?" The Silver Dragon was _famous _for their fried chicken. She glared at him before grabbing her jacket and stomping out of the house. "Where you going?"

She didn't reply, only slamming the door and running into the street.

She didn't mean to walk past the alley she'd sworn she saw a portal at Friday but when she walked past she immediately recognized it and slowed to a stop.

Steadily, she creeped into the fold on the street, looking around curiously for proof of a visit. Whenever she stepped in something sticky she immediately groaned and tried to take out her shoe before looking down and seeing its odd color.

Blackish? Reddish? She leaned down and was immediately washed over by the scent of blood and felt the urge to throw up. Turning, she doubled over before coming face to face with a boy.

A _dead_ boy.

Tayler let out a scream before quickly trying to leave the alley. Then she heard it, the whooshing sound and saw the bright blue light. Another portal.

Tayler ran out the alley and raced to The Silver Dragon with inhumanly speed. She was there in seconds but didn't have enough time to think if super speed came with her powers.

Chris was standing at a table, staring daggers at a couple who refused to stop making out instead of taking an order like he requested out of them. Finally, Chris flipped.

"You know what?" he yelled, "Fuck it! I'll bring you what I feel like and not only will you _like_ it, you'll _eat_ it and _pay_ for it too, you disgusting-."

"Chris!" Hay Lin yelled coming from behind the counter and heading towards a screaming Chris and appalled couple. Tayler had no time to laugh, only run to the room at the back of the restaurant and finding it locked.

Then she remembered that The Silver Dragon had a basement from all the times Hay Lin talked about it. Tayler searched for stairs and once she found them behind a curtain, raced down and searched, She opened binders, flipped tables, everything. Then she found it.

The map of portals lay on the cabinets by the door, gather ing dust. She would've asked for help but who would listen. She was 'crazy', right?

Tayler grabbed the map and raced back up the stairs and through the restaurant before being stopped by Yolanda after she ran into her.

"Sorry," Tayler said before leaving Yolanda in the dust.

Yolanda looked back at the girl as she dashed out the restaurant and down the street determined. She raised an eyebrow before walking over to Hay Lin who was still handling the shocked customers.

"I won't stand for such language while me and my girlfriend are trying to eat."

"My girlfriend and I," Yolanda corrected silently. The man was about to snap at her before Chris interrupted.

"Eat _what_? In case you haven't noticed, there is nothing edible on your table. So once again, I'll ask: _May I take your fucking order_?"

The girlfriend gasped and Hay Lin growled at the fifteen year old. Yolanda, seeing an opportunity, grabbed a stack of coupons from the waist band bag of Hay Lin and sat across from the couple.

"He's going through a hard time." Yolanda sighed. The couple blinked. "But, if you're willing to look the other way would you like half off your next purchase?" The couple looked at her warily. "Next _two_ purchases?"

No one said anything for a moment before the girlfriend asked, "This is the place with that fried chicken, right?"

"We're known for it." Yolanda smiled. The girlfriend quickly grabbed the coupons while her boyfriend looked at her accusingly. She shrugged before looking at Hay Lin.

"Can _she_ be our waiter for the evening?" she asked. Chris gasped.

"She doesn't even work-!"

"She sure can!" Hay Lin smiled brightly, pushing Chis towards the counter at the front of the restaurant. She sent Yolanda a hopeful look. Yolanda smiled and nodded before getting squeezed to death by her teacher.

"Thank you!" Hay Lin whispered in her ear before letting go and handing her a small note book and paper. Hay Lin stalked off, eagerly ready to bite Chris's head off. Yolanda laughed before turning her attention back to the couple.

"May I take your order?" she asked before noticing the two had begun kissing again. "Or not."

* * *

Hailey stomped into The Silver Dragon before throwing her book bag on the counter top at the virgin bar and scowling.

"Uh, can I help you with something?" Yolanda asked raising an eyebrow. She wanted desperately to throw the book bag back off as she'd just finished wiping the counter but decided against it.

"The usual." She growled sitting on the bar stool and banging her head repeatedly on the table. Yolanda raised both eyebrows now before saying dryly,

"It's my first day; I know no 'usual's." Hailey looked up, seeming to see Yolanda for the first time since entering the restaurant.

"You work here now?" she asked amazed

"Yep." Yolanda said smugly, popping the 'p'. Hailey shook her head as if trying to organize her thoughts.

"Let me rephrase that question: You work?" Yolanda looked at her with a glare before sarcastically spitting,

"You're a comedian." Hailey sighed before banging her head back on the counter top.

"Shirley Temple, extra cherries, please." She whined. Yolanda smiled brightly.

"Coming right up." Hailey looked up sadly while Yolanda began fixing her drink. "You went to school today?" she asked gesturing to the book bag. Hailey nodded.

"Mock Trial practice, not that any one's talking much to me anymore."

"Why not?" Yolanda asked filling a plastic cup with ice.

"Because," Hailey whined as if it were obvious. "I've missed three practices because of training an unknown villain with powers I can't even control, my friends think I'm ditching them and Brian still thinks I'm a big joke." Yolanda smiled with pouring cherry flavored syrup into the cup.

"Oh, Brian," she sighed. "That nerd you're trying to get to fall for you so you can go to your precious Debate Camp and break his heart?" Hailey frowned.

"It sounds bad when you say it like that." Yolanda scoffed while stirring the drink.

"It sounds bad period." Yolanda handed her the drink. "You're manipulating a guy for your own good." Hailey scoffed.

"Sound like something you would do."

"Oh, it is." Yolanda assured looking at Chris who was serving again, this time quietly. Hailey took a sip of her drink before her eyes went wide. She gasped.

"This is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted." Yolanda smiled smugly.

"I know, right? I've gotten like, 40 bucks in tips since I started." Hailey stared at the proud brunette before drinking more of her drink. "Anyways, I totally see your point." Yolanda said putting up the syrup. Hailey, lost in her drink, barely looked up.

"Hmm?"

"About Brian. I mean, I'd do the same thing. But," she gave Hailey a once over. "You're not giving him much to work with." Hailey knitted her eyebrows together and made a look of offense while sucking on her straw.

"Whaduyabean?" she asked slurping. Yolanda raised her eyebrow.

"I mean," Yolanda sighed while resting her arms on the counter. "Look, you're pretty and all but guys like Brian? They need hot-popular-beautiful not sorta-geeky-frizzy-red-hair-beautiful." Hailey subconsciously raised a hand to smooth out her crazy red hair.

"Well," Hailey said arguably "It's not like I'm _you_." Yolanda flipped her hair and batted her eye lashes.

"Why, thank you," Hailey cut her a look before growling,

"Shut up, you know what I mean." Yolanda and Hailey stared at each other for what felt like half an hour before they both burst into a fit of laughter.

"I can help you, you know?" Yolanda suggested. Hailey raised a red eyebrow. "Give you a makeover if you want."

"A makeover?" Hailey's voice came out as unbelieving as she was thinking. Yolanda Parker being nice to _her_? If someone had told her this when she had first met the girl in the hall ways of their elementary school she would have shrugged it off. If someone had told her this would happen in middle school she would've laughed and complimented said person for their creative sense of humor. But now Hailey was living it and she still thought it was some weird version of a dream.

"I've got nothing to do tomorrow after school." Yolanda shrugged. "My place?" she asked. Hailey's blue eyes widened.

"I-I-I don't k-know where you live" she wanted to stop stuttering but she couldn't help it. Yolanda shrugged.

"Nah, it's cool, just ride home with me."

"With you? In _public_?" Yolanda looked down at the girl as if she were stupid.

"Well, we do go to a _public_ school, so I would assume so." Hailey nodded frantically. Before Yolanda could ask what was wrong with the girl two customers walked in laughing loudly and making their way to the virgin bar.

Brooke and Bree.

The two popular blondes sat up on the bar stools and raised an eyebrow at Yolanda.

"What?" Yolanda asked innocently after five minutes of staring. Brooke sighed.

"Oh, nothing. Just, ya know, looking at the best piece of gossip to use on a rainy day." Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Wow, so I have a job. So scandalous." Brooke scoffed.

"Aren't you supposed to be bowing to me or something right now? I'm a customer." Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you're right! However may I serve thee, fair maiden?" Yolanda said it so dry you should almost hear a sizzle in the background of her voice. Hailey hid her giggle behind her hand. "And what are you doing here?" Yolanda asked to Bree who immediately looked down. Yolanda only asked because she knew her old friend hated Chinese food but Brooke gave Yolanda a smug smile before asking,

"What? Mad I stole your obedient puppy?" Yolanda glared at Brooke before curiously looking at Bree who was still slumped in her seat.

"What? You're not gonna defends yourself or anything?" Bree didn't reply, only slumped lower. Yolanda raised an eyebrow and was about to ask if her friend was alright when Brooke interrupted.

"Why would she? Just in case you haven't noticed, Parker," Brooke propped herself up on the countertop and leaned over so she could get in Yolanda's face. "I own Sheffield now that you're hanging out with the nerd bunch." Brooke looked over at Hailey as if she were a bug to be smashed. Hailey stopped sipping her drink and glared.

"Please, at least I'm original." Hailey snarled. "You're just a stereotypical, bottle blond cheerleader." Brooke's glare seemed like it could bend steal and even Yolanda flinched at the sight. IN the corner of her eye, Yolanda could see Bree had noticed it too. Brooke looked dangerous now that _she_ was the one getting insults hurled at her.

But even though the anger radiating off her seemed to make their whole side of the restaurant quiet, Hailey only leaned in and embraced Brooke's anger, giving her a hard glare. Not as hard as Brooke's but hard none the less.

"What are you supposed to be, Landa's new pet?" Before Hailey could spit out a retort Yolanda snarled,

"Oh, _shut up_ Brooke! And Bree, why are you just sitting there?" Brooke stared.

"Because I want her to." Brooke shrugged casually. Yolanda looked at Brooke suspiciously but Brooke only continued. "What? You think Bree likes you or something? She couldn't care less! In fact, Bree show her how much you _don't_ care!"

In one fluid movement Bree grabbed Hailey's drink and hurled it at Yolanda's face. The red liquid splashed everywhere and the ice hit her hard, along with the cup that managed to get Yolanda's bruised eye. She flinched and slowly opened her eyes to see Brooke's sick smile and Bree's face.

Yolanda had expected a glare from Bree, or maybe a sarcastic smile like the one Brooke was giving her but all Yolanda saw was her old friend looking over the counter at her shocked. Bree looked at Yolanda apologetically, as if to say "She made me do it!" but that wasn't true.

Bree was just a bitch. But her facial expression didn't say so. Bree immediately covered her mouth with her hands and cringed.

"Landa, I'm so sorry, I-."

"Bree!" Brooke snapped. She made her way out of the bar and to the door of the restaurant. "Come on! We're leaving!" Bree's face dropped along with whatever words that were about to come out of her mouth and followed Brooke out of the building.

Hailey looked after them before gathering napkins and washing down some of the drink that had splattered across Yolanda like blood.

"There such _bitches_. How can you be friends with them?"

"I'm not," Yolanda commented darkly before cringing. "Did you see that?"

"See what?" Hailey asked as she began wiping down the counter. "Aw man, this is gonna get all sticky."

"Bree. She looked like she didn't even want to do it. Like Brooke threw it for her or something. She was even apologizing." Hailey shook her head.

"Well, she wasn't sorry enough not to do it." Hailey grumbled. Yolanda looked after her old friends as they crossed the street and made their way towards a building out of sight.

_Weird._ Yolanda thought before grabbing napkins herself and scrubbing her delicious drink of her arms. Hailey paused while cleaning.

"Hey, I can get another one, right?"

* * *

**AN: Well, this chapter was basically all about Yolanda, Tayler and Hailey but Yolanda mostly. I just thought it was about time to write about the other side of MYTHS. Another update sometime next week since I've got a lot of school work. Gosh, we get back from a holiday and teachers just dump essays on you. Sheesh.**

_- Wynn-J_


	14. 13: Put it in the Paper

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 13: Put it in the Papers**

* * *

_This chapter will be kinda long since I'm trying to catch up with some chapters. :) __Also, answers to frequently asked questions that you guys have been PMing me about are in the Author's Note at the bottom. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

"Ew, you're all sweaty." Miranda said wrinkling her nose as Derik walked up to her on the stands inside the school's gym. He smiled at her before shaking his head and letting beads of sweat fall on her. She gasped. "Ew, ew, ew, ew."

Derik laughed before sitting down next to her and slinging an arm around his best friend.

"You're such a girl." She glared at him before saying,

"And _you're_ such a boy." She slid from underneath his arm. "You're all wet."

"Well, that's what happens in sports." She shook her head.

"I hate sports." She commented. "I can't even walk from homeroom to the cafeteria without complaining yet you can do…_that_." Derik chuckled.

"'That,'" he said with a laugh. "Is called basketball." She looked up at him.

"Really? Thanks, I didn't notice." He smiled down at her before clearing his throat.

"So, um, Miranda, I was wondering if you wanted to go to-."

"Hey, Miranda!" Chris smiled plopping down on the other side of her. He was sweaty too from basketball try outs but he made it look cuter, his bright blue eye probably had something to do with it. Miranda smiled.

"Chris, you play basketball?" She didn't really think they had the game on Meridian. Chris confirmed her suspicions by saying,

"Not at all but apparently, I'm great at it." Derik glared at Chris from over Miranda. Chris sent him a glare back before glancing back at Miranda with a raised eyebrow. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"No." "Yes." Miranda sent Derik a disapproving look but he ignored her.

"Are you two okay?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"We're fine." Derik assured.

"Perfect." Chris agreed. Miranda smiled.

"Good," she stood from her seat and grabbed her back pack. "See you at Silver Dragon?" Chris nodded. "I'll call you." Miranda said to Derik before waving at the two and bounding down the steps and walking past cheerleading try outs. She was about to leave whenever there was a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, Miranda!" It was Brooke and Bree. Miranda looked at them suspiciously and wondered if she should warn them she had pepper spray in her bag.

"Uh…hey?" She heard about what Bree did to Yolanda yesterday from Chris. She really didn't really feel safe around them, even if _she_ was the one with the powers. And it wasn't anything more than a feeling that made Miranda think they were up to something lately and the whole business of dumping Shirley Temples was just the beginning to their plot was.

"You should audition." Brooke smiled.

"Audition for what?" Miranda asked curiously

"For the Raiders." Bree said as if it were obvious. Miranda looked at them confusedly.

"What about the Raiders?" Brooke huffed.

"You." She said stupidly. "Audition. Raiders."

"It'll be fun." Bree promised, her blonde ponytail bobbing as she nodded her head.

"Um," Miranda said. "I don't think-."

Brooke placed two hands on Miranda's shoulders and looked her deep in the eyes and concentrated. Slowly, Brooke's eyes turned a vibrant red and Miranda's free will was swept away.

"Auditions continue until Wednesday. You want to audition and kick Yolanda out of caption position. You've always wanted to be a Raider and Yolanda was in your way. Now's your chance to beat her." She said sternly. "Right?" Miranda stared at Brooke dumbly before remembering, the memories seeming to jump out of nowhere. She _did_ want to kick Yolanda off the team. And she'd _always_ wanted to be a Raider. The popularity, the outfits, the people, why _wouldn't_ anyone not want it?

"You're right, Brooke." Miranda smiled. "I should audition. Thanks for reminding me!" Miranda hitched up her back pack before turning around and walking out of the gym towards Silver Dragon.

Brooke watched her leave triumphantly. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled. "Told you I can make people do what I want." She smirked. Bree shook her head in astonishment.

"That was _so_ cool!" Bree watched Miranda leave in amazement. "She didn't notice at all!"

"Neither did you," Brooke pointed out. Brooke suddenly felt uncomfortable. She didn't like it when Brooke used her new found powers on her. "It's all working out according to plan."

"Totally," Bree agreed, nodding before asking, "Wait, what's our plan?" Brooke made a sound of frustration before stomping, some of her blonde hair falling from out of her pony tail.

"Jesus, Breanna Rencha you are the stupidest human being to ever walk the _planet_!" Despite Brooke's anger, Bree smiled playfully and laughed before replying,

"I know, right?"

* * *

Selena sat in the library flipping through a book when Riley walked up to and sat beside her, pretending to read his own.

"What you reading?" Riley asked her curiously after a pause. Selena shrugged, never taking her eyes off the page. Riley raised an eyebrow at her ignorance. Hadn't just the other day she'd been so eager to tell him everything about her? "Is it good?"

Selena shrugged again. Riley groaned. "Did I do something? Because you can just tell me what I did, I don't know why girl do this." Selena cracked a smile at that one before burying her face deeper in the book. "The silent treatment? _Really_? I thought you were more original."

"I'm original!"

"Well, you're definitely not persistent." Selena glared before looking back in the book. "Oh, come one Selena, what is it?" Selena looked at him over the top of her book. He seemed to actually care she wasn't answering him. She huffed and put down the book.

"Chris told me to leave you alone." Riley waited for her to continue but he said nothing.

"So…"

"Well, obviously, you did something to piss him off." Selena stated. Riley scoffed. He was honestly angry about this. Who was _Chris_ to tell Slelena who she could talk to. Wait- why the hell did he even care?

"I haven't done anything. Why should he care who you hang out with anyways. He's not your dad is he?"

"No, but he's my friend and he says your bad news." _Smart kid._ Riley thought.

"How does he know that?" Selena threw her hands up.

"I don't know."

"So what? Chris just tells you to jump and you do it?" Selena glared at him.

"No." Riley shrugged.

"Well, that's what it seems like." Selena scoffed before going back to her book. Riley continued. "You should learn to stick up for yourself. Chris won't always be there, or Tayler, or Miranda." He really thought that too. That Selena should be more self confident, bolder. He was tired at watching everyone else looking at her as if she were weak whenever he- wait, seriously, why the _hell_ did he even care?

"How do you know?" Selena asked even though she knew it was true. She was so eager to get friends she was starting to let them boss her around.

"No one stays forever, Le-la." Riley mutterered. He was getting way too connected with his subject. Selena frowned. Somehow she remembered that nick name. From somewhere…

"Wait, where are you going?" Selena asked as Riley stood and began to leave.

"You're supposed to be leaving me alone, remember?" He asked back with a smile. Selena stared at him as he left, not noticing how he'd switched the book he was pretending to read with an old, small one he'd just stolen from her book bag.

* * *

"What's your problem?" Chris asked Derik as he stood from the risers while gathering his stuff.

"You, you're my problem." Derik accused. Chris raised an eyebrow.

"What about me?" he asked with a smile. Derik glared.

"Oh, please, you know."

"Know what?"

"That I like Miranda." He said it silently, looking around to see if anyone had heard. Chris smiled.

"Seriously, _Scotland_ knows you like Miranda. There's no one to hide it from." Chris pulled his back pack around his shoulder.

"Then why are you flirting with her?" Derik asked

"I'm not 'flirting', I'm simply sending her subliminal messages to let her know I'm interested."

"That's flirting."

"It is?" Chris asked. "Oh, well then, yeah, I'm flirting with her." Chris began to walk away but Derik stopped him.

"I'm asking her to the dance on Friday." Chris laughed and looked at Miranda's friend unbelievably.

"No, you're not."

"What do you mean 'I'm not'." Chris turned to face Derik while keeping a hand on his book bag strap so it wouldn't fall off.

"As in, you're way too scared to ask her." Chris pointed out. Derik scoffed.

"I'm _not_ scared."

"Yeah, you are. If it were Brooke or Bree or Yolanda or any other girl at this school you'd ask her straight. But no, not with Miranda, because she's the type who'd say no."

"What makes you think she'd say no?" Derik asked confidently, a cocky smile playing on his lips.

"Because Miranda's not the type to base everything on looks. You being popular doesn't influence her at all. In fact, it might make her say no after all the trouble it's caused her."

Derik raised his eyebrows. "You know about the newspaper?"

"_Everybody_ knows about the newspaper." Chris assured. "I'm just saying, if you ask and she says no, don't take it personally." Chris patted Derik's shoulder assuringly. "But don't worry, she won't be going alone."

Derik dumbly stared after Chris as he left before grabbing his stuff and angrily stomping down the risers.

* * *

"Okay, and…_there_." Yolanda put down the brush before turning the chair towards the mirror and smiling gleefully. "You're beautiful. What do you think?"

Hailey stared at herself in the mirror. Was that even the same girl? Her usually frizzy red hair was now silky smooth and her blue eyes looked bigger and bluer. And…

"My freckles." Hailey said raising a manicured hand to her cheeks and running her soft fingers across her nose. "They're gone." Yolanda's smile disappeared. She grabbed a brush and motioned to it in the mirror's reflection.

"Sorry, I can take off some of the makeup if you want-." Hailey jumped out of the chair and gripped Yolanda in a fierce hug. Yolanda looked down at the red head with confusion before hugging her back.

"Thank you! I look like a completely different person." Yolanda turned Hailey around and showed her the mirror again.

"It's just makeup, hair products and a spa kit." Yolanda stated "All made to _enhance_ your beauty, not make your beauty." Hailey smiled at her reflection.

"Brian won't be able to take his hands off me." Yolanda walked to her bed and pushed back the large canopy and flinging herself on her back on the soft cushions.

"At least your guy has clear motives." Hailey looked at her friend who lay sprawled across her bed. Thinking of nothing better to do she joined her, lying down beside her.

"Chris just needs to see you." Hailey stated. Yolanda scoffed.

"Chris can see me any day; he's my co-worker."

Hailey laughed. "No, like, he needs to see _you_. All Chris knows about you is what he's learned from Selena, the girl you've been bullying your whole life, and Miranda, who you blackmailed." Yolanda huffed before covering her face with her hands.

"It wasn't me," Yolanda persisted. "I told you that; I didn't spread the paper." Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Well, _I_ know that but Chris doesn't. He doesn't know _you_. Like how I didn't know you before today." Yolanda laughed while looking up at her roof.

"You knew me just fine." Yolanda said. "Facing the facts: I've been a bitch. To everyone." Yolanda turned to Hailey. "Even you." Hailey shrugged in reply.

"You weren't that bad. Some of the stuff you said could have even been interpreted as funny." Yolanda raised an eyebrow at Hailey's attempt to make her feel better.

"Oh, really, Wendy?" Hailey grimaced at the nickname.

"Okay, yeah, you were a bitch." Yolanda smiled before turning back to face her ceiling. "But you're not. Now, at least."

"Oh, just wait," Yolanda promised. "I'll find a way to ruin it." Hailey walked over to the bed before crawling on it and lying beside her.

"Well, I mean, you're going through a lot; it's gotta be hard. New mom, new sister…"

"So?" Yolanda asked. "You got a new sister and you've been a dork since grade three and you don't act like me." Hailey cringed which made _Yolanda_ cringe. "Sorry, I'm new at this."

"Obviously," Hailey rolled her eyes. "And I'm not all that good. I think I did something really…._bad_." Yolanda's eyes widened and she sat up in her bed and looked down at the now-beautiful redhead.

"Spill it."

"I think I'm killing my un-born little sister." Yolanda sat in silence before flipping the idea over in her head.

"I don't even think that's possible." Hailey scoffed at this.

"Says the girl who causes earth quakes when she starts a tantrum." Yolanda scowled before throwing herself back down on the bed. Yolanda thought and there was a long pause before someone spoke.

"How are you doing it?" Yolanda asked quietly. Hailey squeezed her eyes shut.

"I wished she'd die." Hailey admitted. "Or, more specifically, I wished she'd get tangled in her umbilical cord." Yolanda gasped. "I was angry; I didn't know it would happen."

"Well, then just undo it." Hailey rolled her blue eyes.

"Like I haven't tried." She scoffed. "My mom's still in the hospital and every time I visit, no matter what I think, she just gets worse." Yolanda stared at her ceiling in silence. "Hallie's gonna die soon and it's all my fault." Yolanda immediately felt the need to comfort her.

"Okay, well, obviously, your powers had something to do with this." Yolanda sat up and tied her curly brown hair into a pony tail. Hailey looked up at her friend and nodded miserably. "If you figure out this power and learn how to use it then you can reverse it in time." Hailey shook her head.

"We can only practice our powers in Silver Dragon remember? And if I have the power to control things, _people_, with my mind then how can I practice without hurting someone." Yolanda took a deep breath and glared at her annoyed.

Hailey looked at her helplessly before Yolanda just couldn't take it and dragged her new friend off the bed. "What are you doing?"

"Stand here." Yolanda instructed before grabbing the chair to her computer desk and sliding it in front of where Hailey stood. Yolanda sat down, closed her eyes and took a relaxing breath. "Tell me to do something."

Hailey's eyes widened and she shook her head before remembering Yolanda had her eyes closed. "No, I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Yolanda asked annoyed through clenched teeth.

"I could hurt you, for one!" Hailey said obviously. Yolanda rolled her shoulders and said nothing. A minute of silence happened before Yolanda opened an eye and glared impatiently.

"I'm _waiting_." She said impatiently. Hailey growled before closing her eyes and concentrating. When they opened again her trademark blue eyes were red, not that Yolanda saw with her closed eyes.

"Tell me a secret." Hailey commanded. Yolanda obediently spoke what Chris had told her at the lockers the other morning. Hailey raised an eyebrow before continuing. "No, seriously, tell me a secret."

"I did." Yolanda replied calmly. Hailey's eyes widened.

"_Shut up!_" Yolanda's mouth remained closed. "Are you serious?" Yolanda opened her mouth and mouthed words but no sound came out. Suddenly, realizing what she'd done Hailey stomped her feet angrily. "Aw, shit!" she grumbled while flailing her arms.

All across the house, the water turned on and from a far bathroom, Yolanda heard the sound of Ellie's scream.

Yolanda laughed and opened her eyes before panicking. Her laugh didn't make a sound. Yolanda looked at Hailey desperately with her hands to her throat.

Hailey shrugged, her eyes blue again. "I honestly have no idea how I did that."

* * *

Tayler dragged her book bag behind her on her way home from Dance Committee. _Two more days_, Tayler thought sleepily, _and this'll all be over._

On the inside, Tayler was upset no one had asked her to the dance. Well, Alex did but he didn't count. For one, he'd been trying to ask Tayler out since kindergarten even though she told him repeatedly she was only interested in being friends and two, she rarely talked to her old friends any more. Or the "Drama freaks" as MYTHS had labeled them.

She walked by the alley again on purpose, just to see if the body was still there.

It wasn't and Tayler failed to feel any shock whenever a blue light filled her vision.

"Seriously?" she asked the swirling portal after making sure no one was around to witness it. "Do you know how stupid you're making me look?" She huffed while yanking the map of portals out of her back pack.

She glanced down at if trying to find the street. And when she did, no portal.

Tayler wasn't even shocked. Of course the one portal that kept opening and closing was the very one that it seemed only Tayler could see. Maybe she was going crazy…

Just then Tayler heard a noise and quickly ducked behind the dumpster without thinking. Hiding was becoming a sixth sense with trying to evade her brother. Whenever it seemed the cost was clear, she whipped out her cell phone and took a picture of the map with the portal in the back ground.

_Try calling me crazy now!_ Tayler thought relishing the picture.

"What the hell are you doing?" A deep voice commanded.

Tayler's eyes bugged as she looked up and saw a large, tall man growling down at her. He'd just stepped out of the portal. She opened her mouth only to have no words come out.

"I was trying to reach you." Said another, familiar voice. Definitely a boy judging by the deepness. It took a second for Tayler to realize that her view behind the dumpster had obscured the actual picture. Mr. Tall and Muscles was glaring down at a person the dumpster blocked. She wanted to see who it was but that would blow her cover.

"You're supposed to be spying on the girls. Do they trust you?"

"Yeah, but-."

"Then what's the problem?" the man demanded. He had sandy blonde hair and a chiseled face. If he wasn't so angry looking, Tayler might have considered him hot….and familiar.

"I found a moment where we could attack. Check out their powers, you know?" The man seemed to ease up. "And I found this." The boy must've handed him a book because now the man was flipping through it, curious.

"The pages are blank."

"You have to get the Heart to unlock them."

"Well, have you got the heart?" the man asked impatiently.

"Well, uh, no-."

"Then this isn't important." He threw the book down and Tayler saw it was _the_ book; Selena's book that had all their secrets. She wanted to cuss, or explode but that would've made things worse.

Far worse. "What about the attack you spoke of?"

"There's a dance at their school. Some stupid Halloween thing." The boy said. "We can go then, call them out."

"Sounds decent." The man still sounded unimpressed. "How are they coming into their powers."

The boy replied, "How should I know? That's your job; I'm only supposed to gain their trust."

Suddenly it all made sense. There was a spy who was trying to get close to them, learn their secrets. And he had to be close enough to Selena to get her book.

Chris.

"We shall attack Sheffield then." The man was saying. The boy agreed and with that they were gone. Tayler waited 10 whole minutes before standing and running as fast as she could. Which was _fast_.

Objects blurred beside her and the world began to slow. Was super speed even a power?

She couldn't tell Miranda or Selena. They were too close to Chris. _Selena_. Tayler thought. _She'll be heartbroken._

She had so wanted to reunite their friendship, too. Selena and her were best friends since the beginning of time. Tayler hadn't meant to leave her, she'd even tried to get Selena into acting but the small girl was too shy to even _look_ at the stage let alone preform on it.

She could tell Hailey or Yolanda. Tayler groaned while picking up speed. Hailey had that stupid superior attitude as if she was smarter than everyone in every single way and Yolanda, well, was just a bitch.

But Tayler still knew were Yolanda lived from whenever she and Bree were on the newspaper together and worked at her house. So she ran there.

"Hello, is Yolanda here?" Tayler asked breathlessly at the small blonde eight year old who answered the door.

"Sadly," she replied with a voice so dry the desert had nothing on it. She stepped aside as the little girl led her up the stairs and pointed to the door. "Good luck. She's got company."

The girl bounced away and Tayler timidly knocked on the door.

Hailey answered, her eyes wide. Tayler gasped while Hailey sighed with relief.

"Oh, thank _God_. Please tell me you can help." Hailey pulled the black girl through the door by her arm. Tayler stared.

"What happened to your face?" she asked in awe. Hailey rolled her eyes, having forgotten about the makeover.

"We can talk later, just fix her!" Tayler looked to see Yolanda sitting in a chair staring at nothing.

"What's up with her?" Tayler asked. Hailey made a sound of frustration.

"I used my powers on her and now she's stuck in zombie mode! And she can't even talk!" Tayler looked at Hailey quizzaly.

"Wait, I don't see a problem to fix." Hailey glared and slapped Tayler on the arm. She winced and rubbed the spot.

"That's not funny! I can't get her to snap out of it."

"Can't you just tell her to stop?" Tayler asked looking at Yolanda curiously. She waved a hand in front of the brunettes face but Yolanda did not reply.

"Like I haven't tried!" Hailey screamed. "See if you can do something. Can't you read her thoughts?"

"How will that help?" Tayler asked before focusing and staring at Yolanda anyways. "She's waiting for another command." Tayler informed the red head.

"Another what?" Hailey asked before Tayler burst into a fit of laughter. "How is this funny?"

Tayler laughed so hard her next words came out in hiccups. "You-turned her-into-a-freaking-slave!" Tayler clutched her stomach and fell to the ground.

"Stop it!" Hailey yelled. Tayler suddenly froze, mid laugh on the ground. Hailey stared at her with wide eyes, fingers in her hair. "Oh, _shit._"

"Boo!" Tayler then jumped into the air and right into Hailey's face. The girl clutched her heart and stared at Tayler horrified while she went into a another fit of laughter. "That was _not_ funny."

Tayler stopped laughing, a smile still playing on her face. Hailey glared at her before smiling too, Tayler's happiness now infectious.

"Seriously, just tell her to wake up." Tayler informed her, the smile still there. Hailey took a deep breath before looking at Yolanda and commanding,

"Wake up!" Yolanda sat stiff. "Wake up, dammit!" Yolanda still stared out into space. "Awaken, you bitch!"

Yolanda glared at Hailey.

"That was mean," she commented before being wrapped in a hug. "Woah, what did I do?" Hailey pulled back and smiled before slapping Yolanda promptly in the face. Yolanda groaned in pain and shock looking at her friend in anger. "The fuck?"

"Don't you ever do that again!" Hailey growled. Yolanda rubbed her sore cheek.

"What's drama freak doing here?" She asked popping her jaw. Tayler suddenly remembered what she was there for.

"Chris is a spy! He's trying to get close to us for-for something, I don't know what." Yolanda and Hailey looked at one another before laughing hysterically. "What? How is this funny?"

"Trust me, Chris is _not_ a spy."

"Well how do you know?"

"…"

"…Are you shitting me?" Yolanda turned to Hailey angrily.

"You weren't supposed to tell! That's why it's called a secret!" Yolanda growled. Hailey shrugged.

"No, wait, _what_ the hell does that mean?" Tayler asked wide-eyed.

"What do you think drama queen?" Hailey asked with a smile. Tayler stared at the two in shock and silence before Yolanda rolled her eyes and flopped down on her bed.

"Well, we might as well put it in the papers."

* * *

**AN: So, took me awhile to update this and I **_**really**_** can't go through and proof this right now but I hope you guys like the longness. Yep, that's right. Six full pages of MYTHS. I hope you are all prepared for this spoiler alert:**

**Chris's Secret…will be revealed in the next chapter. I know, right? I'm getting all excite about it right now. But it's basically not a secret anymore since it seems that just about everyone but Miranda and Selena know. Even some of **_**you**_** guys know, no doubt. And if you think you do, be sure to review or message me. Also in the next chapter will be proposals to the big Halloween dance which is definitely the big turning point in the story.**

**And the dance will be chapter 15/16, and be prepared for some crazy shiz-nick. Just a warning.**

**And finally, a little p.s.**

**Due to some people messaging me about this story, I've decided to make MYTHS a trilogy. Seriously, though, can a girl get half way through the first before being interrogated about the next books. And also, this book will have approximately 30 or less chapters**

**I think I got most of the questions in this author's note but if you have more, please PM me.**

**Also, make sure to check out my poll on my profile page to tell me who your favorite character is. The poll changes with every update, so answer quick.**

**Thanks for reading my ramble!**

_-Wynn-J_


	15. 14: T'was the Night Before the Dance

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 14: T'was the Night Before the Dance**

* * *

Yolanda and Chris stood side by side at the virgin bar wiping down the counters. Yolanda snuck glances at him while he washed. _He's really cute._ She thought, pressing harder onto the table. Maybe she should just blurt it out; get it over with.

Yolanda opened her mouth but closed it after thought.

What if he didn't want to go to the dance with her? Sure, they weren't the best of friends and he thought she was a bitch but she was working on it. That had to count for something, right?

_Right._ Answered a voice in her head. A voice that wasn't hers.

_Tayler, get the hell outta my head._ Yolanda thought back in a growl.

_Why so touchy?_

_Yeah, we're on your side._ Hailey was in there too? Great, she had an audience to witness her failure.

"So, Chris," Yolanda smiled brightly. Chris looked up from his work and looked at her with deep blue eyes.

"Yeah?"

"You know how you said that you appreciated me not blackmailing you for the whole secret thing?" Chris looked at her skeptically.

"Yes…"

"Well, I just thought that maybe you could thank me by being my date to the dance?"

_Boom._ Tayler thought. _You get your man, Yolanda._

_Yeah, show him what you're working with._ Hailey thought with a laugh.

_Shut up!_

Chris paused. He'd wanted to ask Miranda. But she seemed to like Derik and he seemed to like her but neither of them were actually going to _do_ anything about it. And, facing the facts, no matter how bitchy she acted, Yolanda was hot. There wasn't a real reason to say no. So he said yes.

"Yes." Chris said

"But it would be really fun if- wait, did he say yes?" Yolanda asked out loud on accident.

_He did!_

_You two are going to be one of those good-looking couples everybody emulates._

_What does emulate mean?_

_My God, your vocabulary is so diminutive._

_What does diminutive mean?_

_Are you serious?_

_Fine, I'll ask Yolanda. Yolanda, what does diminutive mean?_

"I don't know; I'm not the smart one."

_Duh, being smart is stupid._

_That was so contradictory._

_What does-_

Shut up_, Tayler!_

…_I think Chris is wondering why your talking to yourself, Yolanda._

Yolanda looked up to see Chris staring at her with a raised eyebrow. "Ignore me." Yolanda told him backing away. "I'm stupid."

_Which is smart._ Was Tayler's last reply as Yolanda ran from behind the counter and down to Silver Dragon's basement with the rest of MYTHS.

* * *

"Hailey, Taylor, are you paying attention?" Hay Lin asked. Hailey and Tayler stopped their mind conversation mid rant and looked into the worried face of Hay Lin.

"Totally,"

"Absolutely,"

"Good." Hay Lin sighed sitting down. "Does anybody have a plan?"

"Plan for what?" Tayler asked

"If you were _paying attention_ you'd know." Miranda scolded.

"We're trying to figure out what do about the Sheffield attack." Selena informed helpfully.

"We do have the upper hand." Hailey pointed out as Yolanda bounded down the steps and sat on the table everyone else was sitting around. "They don't know we know we're being attacked. We could prepare the school."

"Or find a way to make people leave early." Miranda agreed. Tayler laughed at this.

"Dear Miranda, one does not simply _leave_ a Sheffield party _early_." Tayler smiled leaning lazily back in her chair. "Our school's parties are the shit."

"It's true." Yolanda nodded, her brown curls bouncing. "Some people from schools down the block even try to come."

"I guess they're fun." Hailey shrugged. "I usually just talk to my friends in the corners." Tayler scoffed at this. Miranda looked at Selena expectantly but she only shrugged her shoulders, her light hair staying in place with her trusted pink head band.

"I never go to the dances." Selena informed.

"Well, you're going to this one." Hay Lin declared resting her head on her hands. "We need all the help we can get."

"We should just lock all the losers in the dance hall." Yolanda smiled while cleaning her nails. "Not like they'd notice any ways. Too busy talking to friends in corners." Hailey glared but said nothing and Yolanda mentally winced, realizing she was bitching.

"That's actually not a bad idea." Miranda said, realization coloring her voice. "We could keep everyone in the dance hall and try to keep the fight outside."

"And how do you suppose we keep a fight that includes five girls with elemental powers and however many guards, probably skilled in tae kwan doe, karate, and whoop-your-ass, from creating mass destruction?" Tayler asked with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.

"We could use the heart." Selena smiled, glad to help. "The book says every heart usually has a type of power similar to force field. We could use it on the school."

"That book is like a Guardian bible." Tayler commented. Selena shuddered. She didn't want to admit she'd lost the book. One minute it's in her book bag and another it's gone, completely vanished. She'd looked all over. Her bedroom, the library, the classrooms, her mom's room, she even looked under that damned cookies jar again.

The book was gone.

"Selena?"

"Huh?" Selena broke out of her worried rambling and looked into the eyes of Miranda who was looming over her. The room was empty now, everyone back upstairs returning to their regular lives.

"I said we should go see if Chris is done with his shift."

"Oh, cool." Selena said dismissively. Maybe she wasn't looking hard enough. Or maybe she could check the bathrooms.

"What do you mean 'oh, cool'. I thought you'd be all jumpy and happy."

"Why would you think that?" Selena asked putting on her jacket.

"Well, I just thought…"

"Thought what?" Selena asked pulling her hair out of her jacket. Miranda bit her lip and played with her hands trying to figure out how to say what she wanted to.

"You'd tell me if there was anything going on between you and Chris, right?" Selena started at her friend for about five solid seconds before doubling over and laughing.

"I promise, he's all yours." Selena chuckled patting her shoulder. "So, Chris _and_ Derik? Somebody's a little undeceive." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"I'm not into Chris- at least I don't think I am. I keep waiting for Derik to ask me but he never does." Selena gasped.

"Miranda, it's the 21st century. You're telling me women can wear jeans in public, vote, and have a seat in Congress but can't ask a guy out?"

"Yes." Miranda nodded. "See, _now_ you get it." The girls started up the steps. "Are you sure there's nothing going on? It just seems like he likes you. A lot."

"How so?" Miranda pretended to think.

"Maybe because he only lets us talk to you, dislikes every guy who even talks to you and is completely over protective."

"He's just being a good friend. He doesn't own me or anything." Selena thought thinking about Riley's words to her. "Besides, I like Riley."

"I thought his name was Ryan."

"You should stop talking to Tayler."

* * *

"Hey, Miranda." Chris smiled from behind the counter. "Care for a Shirley Temple?"

"Only if Yolanda makes it." Chris frowned. "What? For your information, those are the best drinks in the world. I think she uses her powers to make the cherries sweeter than humanly possible."

"Cherries aren't human." Chris replied.

"_You_ aren't human." Miranda countered back playfully.

"That would explain a lot…" Miranda smiled before remembering the task at hand: Yell at Chris.

"So, you and Selena, huh?" Chris rolled his eyes and stared working on pushing random buttons on the cash register.

"I don't know what's up with you people and the idea of us being 'together' but we're not. We're just friends."

"Well, _I_ know that."

"You do?" His voice made it sound sarcastic.

"Yes, I do. But apparently, _you_ don't." Miranda accused. Chris looked up with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, now I officially have no idea what you're talking about."

"You like Selena." Miranda stated. Chris tried to interrupt but she gave him the hand and kept going. "And that's fine and all but she likes Riley and you're keeping them a part. I mean, how would you feel if there was somebody who was keeping you from someone you like."

_The irony in this situation is not appreciated._ Chris thought. "You should let her do what she wants, talk to whom she wants. You can't just make her do whatever-."

"Selena's my little sister."

Miranda was about to ignore him and continue but she paused. And then, just before accusing him of lying, she saw it. The dimples when he smiled matched hers, their eyes were exactly alike and they both had the barely noticeable freckles along their nose.

They looked alike.

The looked _related_.

And then she passed out.

* * *

Sheffield Institute was in chaos.

Students were wearing Halloween costumes in class, writing _Go to the Dance with Me_ on lockers, and making out in bathroom stalls.

Chris had been asked by fifteen girls to go to the dance, saying no to all of them since he was going with Yolanda.

Derik had been asked way too many times to count which was normal since he was the hottest boy in school, athletic, and single. But, of course, he said no too. He planned on asking Miranda at lunch.

Riley had been asked twenty times, ten on them from Tayler was bounced around him excitedly every time he passed her in the hallways.

Riley couldn't help but laugh whenever she asked him the seventh time, promising they didn't even have to dance together, didn't even have to go if he gave her a kiss right there in the middle of the hall way.

He didn't know why he wasn't saying yes to any of the girls, Tayler included. It wasn't like we wasn't allowed to go to the dance. In fact, he might have even been praised if he got Tayler to trust him enough to asked him to the dance.

As soon as the bell rung for lunch Riley ran out of the class room and made his way to the library, careful to avoid the main hall way where Tayler may or may not have been waiting with roses.

As soon as he got in he took the book out of his book bag and found a place for it in one of the library shelves. Most of the pages of Selena's book were blank but he was able to learn some facts about the guardians.

The death of Yolanda's mother, Miranda's mother's cookie addiction, Tayler's basically non-existent parents, Selena's accident among them.

Since the book was black he only got some details. Selena getting in a car crash with her mom when she was five. The brain damage making her lose her memory and leaving a long scar on her scalp which she covered with her head band.

_Always that weirdly bright pink head band._ He thought. _Doesn't she have any different colors?_

Sure enough he saw Selena walk into the library and come by the shelves with him.

"What's up?" Selena asked breathlessly with a smile. She breathed deeply, appearing not to get any air.

"Are you okay?" Riley asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The people out there are going crazy. I was getting trampled in those halls." Selena sunk to the ground and leaned her head back on the book shelf. She closed her eyes, relaxing, before confusion rippled across her face. "Do you know why Tayler's out there with flowers?"

"Not at all." Riley smiled, joining her on the floor. He stared at her while she breathed deeply. He couldn't see anything that looked like a scar. Either that head band really worked or it faded away over time. It _had_ been about nine years ago.

He used the advantage that Selena had her eyes closed to _really_ look at her. Her skin was slightly tanned and her light brown hair was darker at the roots and curled at the end.

When he leaned closer he saw she had small freckles that were splattered across her nose. And her lips were full. Riley found himself slifing closer against his better judgement.

Riley was so close he could see count her eyelashes and he didn't know exactly what he was doing until he heard Selena laugh and turn the other way.

"Stop staring at me, Riley." She said running a hand through her hair. "Why are we here anyways? I'm hungry."

"I wanted to talk to you without Chris glaring at me like I'm a murderer." _Even though I technically am it's still not polite to stare._ Riley thought. And then his mind flashed back to only seconds ago whenever he was getting closer to Selena. _It's only okay when I do it._ And what was he going to 'do' anyways? Kiss her? _Yeah, because that would've worked out well._

"Chris is weird like that." Selena shrugged. Riley looked at her again before grabbing the book off the shelf and flipping through it.

"I found this book while I was waiting for you." He lied. "It's blank. And weird. Thought you'd like it." He handed it to Selena.

Selena grabbed the book and realized what it was after a second. He found her book! Selena smiled.

"Riley, you are amazing!" She whisper-yelled before grabbing him and pulling him in a fierce hug. "Thank you! This rocks!" Selena looked down again and saw a small green sheet of paper sticking out the top of the book. She went to grab the annoying little thing out before Riley quickly grabbed her hand to stop her. She looked up at him. "What?"

"Uh," He pulled her hand farther away from the book mark. "I wanted to ask you a question."

"Okay…" Selena prodded. Riley shrugged.

"Wanna go to the dance with me?"

Selena smiled.

* * *

"How can you be her sister?" Miranda and Chris sat at their lunch table waiting for Derik and Selena. Miranda saw it as the perfect opportunity to discuss this, _without_ fainting.

"Well, when a mommy and a daddy love each other _very_ much-." Miranda punched Chris on the arm.

"I _mean_ how come no one told me!"

"No one's supposed to know. Not even Selena does." Miranda took a step back.

"Wait, what do you mean 'Selena doesn't know'?" Miranda's stomach growled, interrupting her train of thought. She dismissively ate some of the food on her plate. The Q was loud, people were yelling and someone was playing their iPod against school rules on maximum volume. Paper airplanes blew above the two friends.

"Because if she _does_ know bad things will happen."

"What 'bad things'? You're not making sense." Miranda bit into her burger.

"If Selena knows, she'll start asking questions. And some questions just need to go unanswered." Miranda rolled her eyes.

"What? Some giant curse will be ignited?" Chris shrugged.

"In a way, yes. Yes, it will." Miranda rolled her eyes again.

"Okay, so then what? You don't want Selena to know her own brother is standing right in front of he- wait, what about your parents?"

"What _about_ my parents?" Chris asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If Selena's mom is your mom why were you on Meridian in the first place?" Chris shrugged uncomfortably.

"My mom…she, uh…"

"Out with the secrets, Christopher." Miranda said wiggling her finger.

"She thinks I'm dead." Miranda halted, her burger in between her open lips. She put the food down and sighed.

"That's it; I'm telling Selena."

"What? No, you can't!" Chris yelled but is made no impact with the loud crowd around them. A paper airplane landed on the table. They ignored it.

"So you're just going to lie to her then?" Miranda asked unbelievably.

"What's wrong with a little lie that's helping her along a bit?" Chris asked defensively.

"Because you don't lie to people you care about. Especially not about things like this." Miranda shook her head and stood from the table. She was going to find her friend and tell. Cut this whole thing short.

Chris stood to, ready to stop her.

"Miranda, you can't tell her. Right now she's happy, right? Yolanda's starting to leave her alone, you're there for her, and she's got MYTHS. If you tell her, her world will just start crumbling again. You wanna be responsible for that?"

Miranda glared at Chris but sat down again.

"But you're going to tell her sooner or later, right?"

"Of course." Chris assured once back in his seat. Miranda relaxed a little bit before wondering again where her other two friends were.

No sooner than the thought had finished in her head, Derik walked into the Q, pushing past people.

Miranda didn't see who he was with until he was closer to their table and the crowd had shifted apart. There was Derik and on his arm was the blonde and beautiful Brooke Gardener. Right there in the center of the crowd. Making out.

Miranda lost her appetite.

* * *

"Congratulations, Miranda, for having the only house I've seen that's bigger than Yolanda's." Tayler smiled while fluffing out her strapless black dress. She wore high heels which were unnecessary due to her tall height and turned around facing the other girls with her arms open wide. "How do I look?"

"What are you supposed to be?" Yolanda asked from the bed where she and Hailey had been lying down, talking.

"A witch." Tayler pouted, then smiled once remembering. "Oh, wait," she said grabbing a witch-looking hat out of her bag and placing it on her head. "Ta-da!"

"You still don't look like a witch." Yolanda grumbled.

"How are you supposed to fight in heels?" Hailey asked rearranging her cat ears. "And in a strapless?"

"No worries, I've got those invisible straps. Wouldn't want to flash our enemies!" She smiled before putting on makeup.

Hailey stood from the bed and joined Tayler in front of the mirror. She admired her new look _and_ her kitten outfit. _Brian's gonna lose it. Try ruining my future career as a lawyer while I'm wearing _this_!_

"What about the heels?"

"I have to sing tonight, remember?" Tayler, like most of the drama freaks apparently, had to sing at the Halloween dance for a grade in her music class. "No worries, I'll change in time."

"Girls, are you done in there?" Miranda's mom asked from outside the door. Miranda appeared from her closet, her makeup black, dress ripped and converse dirty.

"What are you supposed to be?" Hailey asked. Yolanda looked at Miranda's outfit and answered,

"Brooke on her period." Tayler fell to the floor in giggles. Miranda rolled her eyes and started to the door.

"We're fine mom." She assured.

"Do you girls need any cookies?" Miranda ignored Yolanda and Hailey's giggles.

"No mother," Miranda said through clenched teeth. "The cookies are not necessary."

"You sure?" More giggles. Miranda turned to glare at the girls in her room and they quickly quieted down.

"Positive." Miranda slammed the door before her mother could say another word. The laughter's immediately followed as Miranda marched to the bath room and banged on the door. "Selena, come on. We're gonna be late."

Selena stepped out of the bathroom in an incredibly short nurse outfit. Tayler whistled. Selena glared.

"What's up with all the almost porn?" Yolanda asked. Hailey giggled before biting her thumb to stop. Selena rolled her eyes and pulled her hair into a high pony tail.

"It's Miranda's." Selena explained.

"Now it makes sense." Yolanda nodded.

"That's actually really sad." Hailey commented. Miranda growled.

"I'm not short!"

"Yes you are."

"Really short."

"Incredibly short."

"When I first saw you I thought you were a pale, designer-clad ommpa loompa." Miranda stomped out of the room and slowly the other girls followed in her steps.

**AN: YES, now I can start writing the dance. And sorry for the mistakes in this, I was writing in a hurry. Tell me how ya feel in this little box? And, because I'm such an awesome person, I'm updating tommorow...maybe. Depends. ANYWAYS, how about we part this chapter with a teaser, shall we?**

* * *

"I'm sorry." Riley said as the music slowed. Selena's arms felt a little stretched, her having to reach them all the way around his neck. Could he hear her heart beating? It was so loud it almost caused a ringing in her ear. Her hands started to sweat so she turned her palms outside-in. Her breath hitched. She was going crazy over the boy.

"Sorry for what?" Selena asked. She was trying to remain calm but she couldn't do that while looking at him. She looked pass Riley to see Chris and Yolanda dancing and talking. Yolanda was talking, as always, and Chris was listening and inserting his two cents where he could. Tayler was rolling her eyes as a boy kept trying to pull her to the dance floor. Tayler caught Selena watching and smiled before her eyes grew large.

Tayler began making her way across. Selena looked to Miranda to see her waving Selena forward ergently. What was going on? "Sorry for what?" Selena asked again. This time she got an answer.

"This."

The world went black.

* * *

**Yep, that's it. Check for updates tommorow night! New charpters every week!...Hopefully.**


	16. 15: Falling For You

**MYTHS**

**By: Wynn-J**

**Chapter 15: Falling For You**

* * *

_Long chapter. What now?!_

* * *

"Hey, Miranda," He said it with a smile on his face as if nothing were wrong but Miranda wanted desperately to slap him in the face and scream 'I like you, you aggravating son of a bitch!'

But that might've been too forward.

"Hey, Derik," Miranda said back awkwardly. The dance hall was filled with loose hormones and different types of pizza which Miranda was devouring now. It was really weird, coming to a dance where everyone was _together_ without having a date. If this was how Sheffield students acted for Halloween Miranda damned the 14th of February. "How's your date?"

"Oh, she's…cool, I guess." _You guess?_ Miranda thought.

"Well, that's _awesome_." Miranda said back before sipping on her punch and looking at the crazy crowd.

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No, I was serious."

"…Was that sarcastic too?"

* * *

"Oh, Tayler's about to sing; we have to dance!" Yolanda dragged Chris onto the dance floor as Tayler started her song. It was loud, slightly obnoxious and the lyrics were hilarious, but then again, so was Tayler. "So you enjoying the dance so far."

"Not really; I can't dance." Chris said standing stiffly. Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Obviously." She said. Yolanda grabbed Chris's hands and began trying to teach him dance moves. "You just have to move on beat." Chris stumbled.

"I'm not coordinated." Chris said dryly. Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Neither is Sally Jen Hasen but look at her." Yolanda gestured to a small brunette dancing wildly off beat. Even Tayler on stage was giving her bug-eyes. Chris smiled but still didn't move. Yolanda huffed. "Fine, but we can at least slow dance, right?"

Yolanda placed Chris's hands on her sides and wrapped her hands around his neck. "All you have to do is step." Chris followed her instructions and the two began slow dancing to one of the fastest songs they'd ever heard.

_Tayler, play a slow song._ Yolanda thought. Whenever there was no reply she thought again. _I know you're listening._

_Fine!_ Tayler thought back before cutting her off. Yolanda wanted to roll her eyes but did nothing.

"When do you think they'll show up?" Chris asked searching the large room.

"Who?" Yolanda asked, her eye brows coming together in confusion.

"The guys. Whoever they are, the ones who sent a spy and are trying to do…what are they trying to do again?"

"I think see how powerful we are or something." Yolanda said, looking away uncomfortably. "I don't know why. I mean, we're just the plain old Guardians of the Veil, right? What makes our powers so special?"

"Maybe they're just trying to see what they're up against." Chris shrugged.

"They're up against three 13-year old girls and two 14-year-olds who'll all stop fighting if they break a nail and fall to their knees begging for mercy if the enemy starts playing Friday by Rebecca Black." Chris smiled and Yolanda turned to him with large blue eyes. "Can we stop talking about this? It's making me nervous."

"Sure thing." Chris said. And then, after a moment of silence he felt the need to say, "We're friends, right? Just friends?"

"Yeah." Yolanda sighed before Tayler's voice appeared again in her head.

_Burn!_

_Shut up, drama freak._

* * *

"How am I supposed to do this?" Hailey asked as he slow song Tayler set to play began.

"Be confident." Tayler told her. They stood by the stage watching Brian and his friends talk. _Probably about something geeky with words I don't know._ Tayler thought. "Act like if he said no, you wouldn't give a damn."

"But I do give a damn; my future's on the line!" Hailey started wringing her hands, her fake claws scratching her. Tayler huffed and looked back over to the boys. Brain could be considered cute in a geeky way. He was blonde and lanky, but Tayler wouldn't be surprised if he started pulling out a comic book any time soon.

"Okay, go over there and ask his friend with the freckles to dance."

"You mean Tony?" Hailey asked as the boys laughed at something one of them had said.

"Sure, why not?"

"Because I'm supposed to get _Brian_, not make him think I'm into somebody else." Tayler turned to the redhead with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you doubting my skills?" Hailey rolled her eyes, huffed and set out to ask the boy to dance. She was half way across the floor when two girls stepped in front of her with crossed arms and frowns.

"Oh, hey guys." Hailey said with a smile. Mila and Nila stared at her angrily.

"Don't 'hey guys' us!" Mila growled. "Where were you?"

"What do you mean?" Hailey asked her old best friends. "I was only a couple minutes late." Her friends glared so she felt the need to continue. "We stopped because Miranda's mom was determined to feed us cookies and they were _amazing_. Seriously, the best things I've ever tasted-"

"What happened to your freckles?" Nila asked suddenly. Hailey raised her hand to her cheeks and felt the face paint Yolanda had helped her with. After all, what was a cat without whiskers?

"I got a makeover." Hailey smiled. Nila and Mila exchanged a glance. "What?"

"First you're too busy to do anything fun, then you ditch us and now you're out getting make overs and hanging out with some rich-girl skank?"

"Miranda's not a skank!" Hailey defended. Miranda was a bitch sometimes but never a skank.

"Not what the school paper says." Nila said tightly. Hailey rolled her eyes.

"Don't believe everything you read." She side stepped them and made her way to Brian and his friends.

Brian didn't notice her until she was right in front of him. He stared down at her and she smiled.

"Hey, guys," Hailey asked with fake confidence. The makeover was working; none of the boys took their eyes off her.

"Hey, Hailey." Brian smiled back. "You look different."

"I'll take that as a compliment." She said before turning to Tony. "Dance with me." She said holding out a hand.

"Okay!" Tony said eagerly. Hailey waved bye at a wide-eyed Brian as the two went to the floor.

* * *

"Wanna dance?" Riley asked. Selena jumped, turning around to face him.

"Where did you come from?" She asked with a smile as he took her hand and walked to the middle of the floor.

"Just the shadows." Riley shrugged. Riley placed his hands on her hips and she stretched up to wrap her arms around his neck.

"So, what are you supposed to be?" Selena asked. Riley laughed.

"The infamous kid who didn't buy a costume." Selena nodded in understanding.

"At least it's original; I've run into three nurses so far." All of which were giving Selena daggers at the moment. She ignored them and turned back to Riley.

"Bet none of them make it look as good as you do." Selena blushed and looked down at her exposed legs. The nurse dress was a little small for her but it was all she could get since her mom couldn't afford a costume.

"I feel like a hot dog." Selena muttered looking back up to him. He smiled.

"Yes, but a very _cute_ hot dog which makes all the difference." In the back of his head Riley knew what he was thinking about doing was wrong. It wasn't as if he'd never kissed a girl but with those girls it definitely had little to no consequences.

And his brother would freak out if he knew he was falling for the enemy. _Well, screw him._ Riley thought. _And I'm not falling for her; I just want to kiss her._

"Penny for your thoughts." Selena said. Riley was thinking about a lot of things. The attack, his brother, Selena…it was all getting jumbled in his head.

"You don't want to know what I'm thinking." Riley promised. Liking Selena would lead to a whole world of problems. It could put her in danger and it would be selfish to do anything like that. Kissing her was out of the question.

"How do you know?" Selena asked. Riley was looking at her weird. His brows were pulled together with concentration and he seemed to be thinking hard. Riley's gaze dropped to her mouth. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm sorry." Riley said as the music slowed. Selena's arms felt a little stretched her having to reach them all the way around his neck. Could he hear her heart beating? It was so loud it almost caused a ringing in her ear. Her hands started to sweat so she turned her palms outside-in. Her breath hitched. She was going crazy over the boy.

"Sorry for what?" Selena asked. She was trying to remain calm but she couldn't do that while looking at him. She looked pass Riley to see Chris and Yolanda dancing and talking. Yolanda was talking, as always, and Chris was listening and inserting his two cents where he could. Tayler was rolling her eyes as a boy kept trying to pull her to the dance floor. Tayler caught Selena watching and smiled before her eyes grew large.

Tayler began making her way across. Selena looked to Miranda to see her waving Selena forward urgently. What was going on? "Sorry for what?" Selena asked again. This time she got an answer.

"This."

The world went black.

A couple of people screamed and Selena jumped, making Riley's arms tighten around her.

"What's going on?" A girl asked next to them just before a voice boomed from the stage at the front of the room.

Vice Principle Raven waited patiently on the stage as Selena's eyes adjusted to the darkness around her. Tayler was standing next to her.

"Sorry students." The vice principle was saying. "It seems the power's gone out. We'll start working immediately to fix them; in the meantime…" Tayler grabbed Selena's arm and pulled her away from Riley.

"Sorry to take away your date." Tayler said already walking away. Riley stared after them. "Girl problems."

Miranda, Yolanda and Hailey were waiting by the North doors whenever Selena and Tayler arrived.

"What's happening?" Selena asked.

"What do you think?" Yolanda asked harshly. "They're probably waiting to stake us right outside these doors."

"I think I saw one of them pass through the crowd." Miranda said. "They were wearing the same clothes as those guards from the palace in Meridian."

"We're getting chased down my _palace guards_?" Hailey asked unbelievably.

"Am I the only one thinking less talking, more locking?" Tayler asked "Sooner or later these kids are going to want to leave the dance if the powers out."

"Let's meet by the school lobby." Miranda said. "I'll get these doors. Hailey, you get South, Yolanda east and Tayler and Selena west."

"What? We're listening to you now?" Yolanda asked.

"I _am_ the one with the heart, aren't I?" Miranda asked impatiently.

"So? You're also the one with crappy powers." Yolanda snapped back "Seriously, does anyone know what Quintessence means?"

"Guys," Selena interrupted "I don't think we're in a position to argue." Tayler and Selena turned away, walking quickly to their doors to lock.

"We'll talk later then." Yolanda said running away, Hailey behind her. Miranda rolled her eyes and stepped into the dark hallway. Grabbing the chains from a pocket underneath her dress, she looped locks through the door handles, closed the lock and made her way to the lobby.

She stopped dead in her tracks whenever she heard the breathing. Like someone had just run miles and was standing right behind her.

She wished she could say that suddenly she went all ninja of their ass but, as a human, her first instinct was the run the hell away. She ran for the lobby, wherever it was, and grabbed her necklace mid stride while turning a corner.

"Guardians unite!" She screamed as the necklace lit up. It was working but not as fast as she wanted. She shook it in her hands while sliding down the hall. "Unite! Unite, dammit!"

The light went out.

* * *

Hailey had just finished locking her door whenever she turned around to see a giant beam of light heading right towards her face. She gasped and threw her hands in front of her seconds before it swallowed her up and spat her back out. Hailey opened one eye to realize she was now in her Guardian form, her wings fluttering behind her.

She self-consciously hid her exposed mid-rift with her arms before realizing: her contact had come out. It must've fallen mid-freak out just before the light attacked her.

Hailey dropped to the floor, feeling around wishing she had Tayler's power for a couple of mere minutes to use light. Whenever she heard feet shuffle behind her she froze, her hand still stretched out across the floor.

She mentally smacked herself for acting like Velma from Scooby-Doo and had to suppress the urge to mock herself by muttering, "My glasses, where are my glasses?"

Hailey stood quickly and turned, scowling into the darkness. She couldn't see out of one eye but it wasn't like it matter with all the darkness in the hallway already.

She could barely make out the outline of the guards before she freaked and sent water at it, sending him flying into the lockers.

"Hailey, what the fuck is wrong with you?"

"Yolanda?" Hailey asked the guard. It was now she noticed the girl who was now drenched and glaring up at her from the floor. "Sorry, I thought you were a bad guy." Yolanda stood.

"Which just proves how awesome we are at this whole thing." Yolanda mumbled sarcastically. She waved Hailey forward and began to walk away when she noticed the girl still standing in the same spot. "You coming or not?"

"Sorry, I can't see. I lost a contact." Yolanda snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Great, how fortunate." Hailey glared at her through the darkness.

"You could at least try to help me find it you know." Yolanda huffed before dropping to her knees and searching the ground. Hailey did the same, both of them searching hurriedly.

Yolanda finally felt her hand hit something and smile.

"I think I found it." She said before feeling it more and realizing it was _way _too big to be a contact. As she ran her hand along it more she felt the hardness of it and as she ran her hand up she realized what she was feeling. A leg.

"Really?" Hailey's voice called happily. "Where?" Yolanda didn't respond, only shot her hand out towards the body. In a matter of seconds pipes from underneath the school broke through the floor and wrapped around the guards body, pulling him against a locker.

As he struggled to get free Hailey came to Yolanda's side and looked through her good eye with shock. "That's not my contact." She informed before the guards hand wrapped around the pipe.

A nose-burning smell filled the air and Yolanda saw that the pipe was _melting_ under the guard's hand.

"They have powers?" Yolanda asked Hailey as they both backed away while the guard freed himself.

"Holy fuck." Was Hailey's response and the two turned and ran for the school lobby. Hailey wanted to fly, knowing it would get them there faster but Yolanda's wings were still wet and Hailey couldn't carry her or anything, especially with only one eye.

Yolanda and Hailey picked up speed while turning corners and saw there was a light on at the end of the hallway coming from the moon outside the window. With this light they were able to run faster until two figures appeared in front of them.

"Hey guys," Tayler waved, oblivious. Selena looked at the quickly approaching girls with a raised eyebrow but otherwise said nothing. "Why are you run-?"

Hailey grabbed Tayler by the arm and Yolanda grabbed Selena, both pulling the other two girls down the hallway to the lobby where the saw Miranda, the heart glowing in her hands.

"They've got powers." Yolanda said as they stopped in front of her out of breath.

"They have _what_?" Miranda asked squinting her eyes.

"Hand-melt-pipe." Hailey managed to get out, doubling over to catch her breath.

"Hello, Guardians," The five girls turned to face a large man, wearing the same suit as the guards behind him. There were only eight or nine of them but that didn't stop Selena from shivering as she felt their stares from behind their masks. "Nice to see you again. Hope we weren't interrupting something."

"Really?" Yolanda asked, her cheeks red. "Small talk? Is that necessary?" The guard let out a humorless laugh before motioning the guards forward.

"Get them." He commanded.

The guards all came at once, all attacking a specific girl. The girls split apart, dealing each with their own problems instead of working together.

One went for Miranda, or more specifically, her necklace. She threw a ball of energy at his greedy hands and he winced.

"Little bitch." He hissed before forcing up his arms, sending Miranda far down the hallway. She landed on her back and tried to regain her breathing.

Yolanda had two guards chasing after her as she raced inside a classroom and pushed herself up on the teacher's desk. The guards banged in the door just as Yolanda raised her hand and two lab tables came to life, standing on their hind legs and swinging at the guards with their other two. Yolanda smiled as the guards were pushed back against a wall.

"Suckers." She sighed, hopping off the desk and making her way to the door when the smell of burning wood reached her nose. The smoke came from all directions and she turned to see the guards coming up behind her, free of the desks. Yolanda coughed trying to get air before racing out of the classroom and running down the hall.

Tayler had two guards after her also. She found herself getting back up against a wall and she whimpered as they ganged up on her.

And then she laughed.

The guards stopped, watching her as she fell on her ass, her head banging into a locker she laughed so hard. Then, as if finally deciding to let them in on the joke, Tayler smiled.

"Those suits aren't flammable, are they?" The guards screeched in pain as fir tore up their sides, burning their skin. Tayler stood and skirted around their burning bodies. "Good luck." She called over her shoulder before running off.

Hailey wasn't doing well at all, she didn't even have the courage to fight back. She managed to run away from her guard, running so fast she didn't notice Yolanda until she crashed into her and they both fell on the ground.

"What the hell happened to you?" Hailey asked the soot-covered girl.

"Fire." She stated before grabbing Hailey's hand and pulling her to her feet. The guards were coming at them from two directions and Yolanda and Hailey found themselves returning to the lobby where Miranda lay on the ground wincing.

Now with four guards after them, the three girls had nowhere to run.

_Nowhere to go but up._ Hailey thought before realizing. _The roof!_

"The roof!" she said pointing to the door that hid the fire escape. "Get to the roof." The three girls ran for it, not knowing who they left behind.

Tayler heard the thought. _The roof!_ Hailey's voice boomed throughout her head as she opened up a window and flew out and around to land on the two-story high ground.

But Selena was still running whenever Hailey's voice centered in her head. _Eight guards._ She though while running down hallways, using her speed to propel her. _One after Miranda and Hailey, Two for Yolanda and Tayler…that's only six._

Were two guards after her too? Selena couldn't bear the thought before a force sent her flying into the lockers at her side. She winced as the pain sparked behind her head and opened her eyes to see a single guard just before his hand closed off her throat.

She lifted her hands, trying to claw off his but nothing worked. The guard had her. Selena didn't want to die, especially this way but her thoughts were cut off whenever another pair of hands circled over the guard that had her, violently snapping his neck to the side.

The guard dropped and Selena breathed again, gasping in air before opening her eyes to see another guard, the eighth one, staring right at her.

She ran for it again, running to the nearest fire escape and flying up the stairs, not wanting to waste time with her feet.

When she got up there she heard the sounds of fighting. Grunts, yells, even saw flashes of light.

She stepped away from the door only to be cornered by another guard. Selena backed away before remembering. She wasn't some powerless girl; she could use her powers.

She opened her palms and a large gust of wind blew out, sending the guard back. She intended to keep him there for as long as it took whenever a light flashed, so bright it pierced through the darkness and hurt her eyes.

Miranda's necklace was getting crushed by the guard's hands while he choked her and after the light finally gave out, all the girls lost their wings.

Having no other way to get him off, Miranda smashed her foot between his legs and the guard fell to his knees making Tayler laugh despite her own mortifying situation with a guard.

Selena was too bust looking around at the chaos beside her that she didn't notice the guard come after her again, bringing her up in the air and flinging her over the edge of the roof. She grasped clumsily at the railing and tried to push herself back up but the guard was there again, stepping on her fingers, slow and deliberately, trying to draw out the pain for as long as he could.

"Help me!" she screamed up at the roof. Hailey and Tayler didn't hear her, them being on the opposite side of the roof trying to fight with their limited powers now that they were in human form. Miranda was on her knees clutching the cracked necklace in her hands willing it to work. She shook it and cussed. "_Please! Someone, help!_" Yolanda looked up at the noise. She'd never heard a scream so full of emotion, which was saying something since she'd watched every episode of _Pretty Little Liars_ on demand.

Miranda was on her knees and a guard was coming straight for her, ready to crush her _and_ the necklace all in one blow. "_Help me! I'm falling!_" Yolanda turned to the edge of the roof and made out the situation.

Selena was going to fall.

She had to save one of them, there wasn't enough time for both. Running, Yolanda pushed Miranda out of the way at the last minute as the guard sailed through the air and off the roof. Seconds later, the sound of his body crunching into the side walk was heard. He was dead. "_Please! Someone, please!_"

Yolanda stood, ready to reach for Selena whenever the last finger slipped off the roof and the girl plummeted two stories down.

"Oh my fuck." Yolanda muttered her hand still stretched out towards the spot where Selena was once hanging.

* * *

**AN: Yeah, I'm being a bitch and ending it here. Yeah, to all you Selena lovers this might not be your favorite chapter…**

**Got today off of school, yay! Happy Valentine's Day tomorrow. Shall I make an update to express how much I heart you guys? Hmmm…**

**So, did Yolanda make the right choice? Who would you save- Miranda or Selena? Hmm, that's a nice poll to answer. Go to my profile page and vote like the wind!**

**Review if you wanna, favorite if you feel like it or PM me "Bitch, you did not just let her fall off a roof." If you want to.**

**Later, I'm gonna go eat an orange. **

_-Wynn-J_


	17. 16: Crap in Cornflakes

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 16: Crap in Cornflakes**

* * *

Falling off a roof was kind of relaxing, not as terrifying as Selena thought it would be. Almost peaceful. Of course she had little time to save herself or do anything but scream until she felt something block her before she tumbled on the ground.

_I'm not dead?_ She thought, opening one eye to look around her. _I'm not dead! Ha! Take _that_ gravity!_

Before she could do something embarrassing like stand up and start dancing with glee she looked up and saw the familiar black and red mask and felt the fabric of the rough suit that belonged to a guard from the palace.

_You can't stay safe for two seconds, can you?_ Riley almost asked. He had landed wrong and had sprained his ankle while trying to catch her but it was worth it. She wasn't dead unlike the guard that lay only feet away from them.

Selena almost screamed and ran away again before realizing he must be the same guard from the hall way, the one that saved her. She looked up at him, her eyes squinted in confusion. The two sat in silence, the battle above them dying down.

"What's wrong with you?" Selena asked, her voice barely a whisper. He almost answered that she was. She was the one causing him to do stupid things and think about things he shouldn't.

But then there was a bright flash and a portal opened behind him. He didn't even make it open! Even Chris had used a bag of…_something_ whenever she needed to get away on Meridian. Riley stood and limped over to the portal, ignoring the pain that came from his ankle. "Wait!" Selena called out to him. He simply stopped, considered turning around but didn't and continued on through the portal.

And with him all the guard vanished. The ones on the roof, the ones lying dead in the hallways and even the one that lay feet away from Selena's feet.

Selena pulled up her legs and hugged her knees, looking up at the roof to wait for her…associates? Friends?

_Yeah, great friends. They let me fall off a roof._ And then it dawned on her. All the rude things of hatred Yolanda and Hailey said to her. The way Tayler ditched her when they were younger. And Miranda had looked her right in the eye and _let her fall_.

Selena scowled before standing and running down the road, her nurse costume flapping in the wind.

* * *

"Hay Lin!" Miranda yelled running into the closed restaurant, the girls and Chris following behind her. "Hay Lin! Selena's-."

"Sitting right here." She answered boredly flipping through pages of her book playing idly with her hair. Hay Lin came from behind the counter with a tray of cupcakes, a smile gracing her face.

"How was the dance? Did you kick butt?" Hay Lin carefully placed the desserts on the countertop and sat on one of the tables and Yolanda inwardly groaned. _I'm gonna have to clean that._ She thought.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" Miranda asked. "Where were you? I thought you died or something!"

"Woah, wait, what happened?" Hay Lin asked confused. The girls ignored her. Chris walked over to the booth where Selena still sat, twirling her hair and reading.

"Hey, care to tell us why the hell you didn't find us after the fight?" he asked harshly. Selena looked up from her book and glared into his intense blue eyes.

"Sorry, I was too busy scrapping my face off the pavement." Miranda crossed her arms and glared back.

"You think this is funny?" Miranda asked. Selena glanced up from her book and graced her friend as sarcastic smile.

"I'm laughing hysterically on the inside." The teens looked at eatchother with doubt before turning their attention back to the girl ignoring them.

_Who crapped in her cornflakes?_ Tayler thought to the group.

"Okay, what's up with the hostile act?" Hailey asked.

"Besides the fact you let me fall off a roof?" Selena snapped back. Hay Lin looked at the kids, wondering how to erase the tension.

"I made Happy Halloween cupcakes!" she supplied.

"As if you couldn't catch yourself! You're air, aren't you?" Yolanda asked sharply. Selena had no idea how to reply to it. She was so angry she didn't know if she could even talk. Her face flushed as she thought of a way to say that she wasn't thinking about her powers whenever she was being dangled over a roof. Or that she was too scared to save herself and that she was hoping Miranda would do something to help her.

_You're such a punk._ Selena scolded herself. _You rely on someone else to help you? No one ever has before, why would they now?_

"Bitch," was all Selena said back before focusing intensely on her book and pushing them far out of her mind.

The girls could tell this was the end of the conversation and turned to Hay Lin who was basically shoving the cupcakes in their faces. Miranda sent one last worried look at Selena before accepting one and sitting on one of the bar stools on the opposite side of the store.

"So, _what_ happened exactly?" Hay Lin asked from behind the counter. Yolanda sat beside Miranda, resting her head boredly on her fist.

"She's just bitching about the fight is all." Yolanda said, her look silently telling the other girls not to say anything about the roof.

"And did any one notice anything?" Hay Lin asked. Tayler shook her head while taking off her dented witch hat and setting it on the counter top.

"No, we told them cutting off the power was just a scare tactic."

"And they believed you?" Hay Lin asked unbelievably. The girls settled around the bar, taking stools while Chris stood sending worried glances to his little sister on the other side of the store.

"Why not?" Hailey asked. "Not like they care. They still get their party either way."

"And the guards just vanished." Miranda said absent mindedly.

"What do you mean vanished?" Hay Lin asked, her eyes squinted in confusion. She leaned on the counter top, her arms spread out.

"As in poof, gone." Tayler summarized. "And they had powers."

"What?"

"Yep, they were scary as shit." Hailey nodded.

"Terrifying." Yolanda agreed. Tayler shrugged smugly.

"I killed two of 'em." She flexed her arms. "Bet no one wants a taste of this _sexiness._" Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Yes, we extol you and gaze up at you in wonder."

"You sure bet you do, bitch." Tayler smiled, poking her playfully. Hailey crossed her arms.

"I think we have more things to worry about than your implicit sexiness." She huffed. "Shouldn't we be thinking about who the spy is?"

"And of course the one to empty us back into our pit of sorrow is the nerdy red-head." Tayler sighed, resting her head on her fist, defeated. "And we're sure it's not Chris, right?" Chris turned from staring at his sister at the sound of his name.

"What?"

"No way, he's too Chris to be a spy." Miranda assured.

"I take that as a compliment." He smiled. Miranda rolled her eyes and continued.

"What are they spying on us for anyways?" Miranda wondered aloud. Yolanda scoffed.

"Obviously to see if our awesomeness if contagious." Tayler smiled and high fived her.

"Hell yes, my Raider."

"They're trying to keep tabs on our powers." Hailey said seriously, ignoring the girls' antics. "See how we're progressing."

"Yeah but why would they need to do that?" Yolanda asked "They didn't spy on Hay Lin right? Or the one before yours?" Hay Lin shrugged.

"I don't think so." She mused

"See?" Yolanda said expertly. "So what makes us so different?" Tayler opened her mouth but Miranda quickly cut her off.

"If the next thing that comes out of your mouth involves the word awesome, sexy or some other word you use to uplift yourself please, _shut up_." Tayler closed her mouth and pouted.

"It could just be one of us specifically they're spying on." Yolanda supplied.

"Maybe…"

* * *

Selena flipped through her book silently in the corner.

_You're being ridiculous._ She tried to convince herself. _Just go over there and forget about it._ But how could she just forget it. The fact that they treated her like shit or that Miranda, who she thought was her friend, let her fall?

And she was saved- by a _guard_. The very people she was trying to kill cared more for her than her own team.

_Enough!_ She snapped. _Stop pouting like a seven year old and go over there._ She sighed and closed her book. What would it mean to her anyways? Maybe they were busy fighting and maybe Miranda looked at her but wasn't really _seeing_ her.

That was possible, right?

She picked up the book, her fingers hitting something rough in the pages. She looked down to see that stupid green bookmark again. She pulled at it, opening it to see a blank page.

The book was really getting on her nerves. She never though books could be so secretive. But then the page started to show fancy penmanship in rich black ink and when the top was revealed she saw it was a family tree. _Her_ family tree.

Selena rolled her eyes. Who would book mark that? It was like a boring history lesson made especially for her. But when the page finished she saw the picture of her mother, and underneath it was _Selena and Christopher Ramento._

* * *

Selena _exploded_.

Well, she _silently_ exploded. She turned around and stared at the back of Chris's, her _brother's_, head. No way was that possible. How could that even make sense?

"_So how did you know my name?"_

_"Um, you just told me it." _

_"I meant before we came to Meridian."_

_"I have no idea what you're talking about."_ Selena's breaths became short as she stared harder at the boy across the room who had no idea what was happening. But he did, didn't he?

"_Really, no idea? The whole first meeting where you flew through a portal and I tried to help you leading up to the whole event of you saying my name in disbelief?"_

_"I do not recall this."_

He knew. He _knew_ the entire time and he _lied_ about it.

"Who are you?" She asked loudly. The group stopped their conversation to stare at her. She stood from her booth and walked closer to them. It was clear she was talking to Chris but they all still remained silent. "What, are you deaf? Answer me!"

"What are you talking about?" he asked trying to calm her down. It took only seconds for Miranda to realize what was happening. Selena knew. How she figured out was a mystery but it was clear now. Selena knew who Chris was and that he was keeping it a secret. "I'm Chris."

"No; I want you to admit it." Selena said, her voice loud but shaking.

"Admit what?" Chris was still trying but his attempts at trying to steer her off track weren't working. "I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Stop _lying to me_!" Selena demanded. "Tell me! Who are you?" Chris remained silent and suddenly the doors flew open. Chairs and tabled were lifted from their place on the ground and tossed into the air with a giant gust of wind. Selena's hair was flying up in her face as she was a little scared of herself but she was too mad to stop it.

"Selena, just calm down!" Chris had to scream so his voice would carry over to her without getting thrown back in his face. Yolanda ducked behind the counter top and tried to keep her hair from flying around her.

"She's going crazy." Yolanda concluded. "This is what happens when you drop a social pariah off a roof, she turns into a crazy ass bitch."

"Now's not the time!" Miranda informed, ducking beside her.

"You lied to me that day when you said you didn't know who I was!" Selena yelled, her hands curled into fists at her side. "I'm your-your…"

"Sister." Chris nodded. "You're my sister." The wind stopped and the tables and chairs hit the floor with a violent crush.

_I'm gonna have to clean that too._ Yolanda thought. Selena stood in the middle of the mess, her eyes filled with tears. Whether they were tears of sadness or anger no one really knew but no one made a move to do anything. "Say something." Chris said after the silence became too much.

"You lied to me." She said weakly. "And how can you be my-my…"

"Brother." Chris said again, a smile playing on his lips. "It's not a bad word, Selena."

"This isn't funny, stop smiling." She said weakly. Chris obeyed anyways and Yolanda shivered from behind the desk. "So it was me you were looking for that day?"

"Yeah, I was looking for you."

"Why?" Chris shifted uncomfortably.

"Selena, there's a reason why I didn't tell you-."

"Will you please just _shut up_ and answer my questions? Can you at least do that? It's been a long night."

"Calm the bitchitude, Smellena. It's not Chris's fault, okay?" Selena was so mad she ignored the insult of her nickname.

"Wait, she _knew_?" Chris opened his mouth but said nothing. "You knew he was my brother?" Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"So what if I did? Makes no difference. You're still Selena and he's still Chris. The only difference is your related and now you know." Yolanda placed her hands on her hips. "Be happy. You've been kept out of the loop long enough, now you know."

"What fucking loop?" Selena asked harshly. Hay Lin slowly ducked under the counter top along with the other girls trying to escape any turns of attention. "Who else knew?" Yolanda bit her lip and winced.

_Great going, Landa, now she's pissed at all of us._ Hailey thought before guiltily raising her hand.

"Me too." Tayler said hiding her face with her hair.

"Me three." Hay Lin squeaked still not showing herself. The others turned to Miranda who huffed and stood.

"It's not like I didn't want to tell you." Selena closed her eyes trying to concentrate but still had nothing.

"So you all knew?" Selena asked unbelievably.

"Selena, I couldn't tell you." Chris said again.

"But you could tell everyone else?!" Selena clenched and unclenched her fist not knowing what to do with her hands. She looked around at the restaurant and shuddered. "Sorry for the mess." She said meekly before turning and walking out into the cold air.

* * *

**AN: Wrote this in about an hour filled with distractions so there probably are a **_**lot**_** of mistakes which I'll try to fix before the next update. Thanks for reading!**


	18. 17: Bad Ideas

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 17: Bad Ideas**

* * *

"Honestly," a guard promised the elder. "They were terrified." The guards watched as the air guardian created a large gust of wind that swept through the building they were in, turning up tables and flipping chairs.

The elders sat at their table in their large robes and sent doubtful looks at the mirror on the wall that showed them the image of the guardians.

"Yes, that air guardian seems ready to cry to her mother." One elder said dryly. Riley smiled slightly before covering it with a cough. Elders weren't supposed to be funny.

"Really," a student said. "It seemed as if they knew we were going to be there. Maybe they're on to us."

"You think they know about our spy?" an elder asked turning towards Riley who immediately straightened and placed his hands firmly at his side. "You've been injured, I see."

"Just twisted an ankle while running is all." Riley lied. The elder didn't pick it up or if he did he chose to ignore it.

"The guardians of legend are irresponsible and careless yet it seems they can defeat a handful of our trained guards within minutes."

"That's an overstatement." A guard from the fight defended. The elder's face was hidden behind the shadow of his robe but you could hear the sarcasm and his lifted eyebrow.

"Eight guards sent and only four of them return. You call that a success?" The guard shrunk back. "Riley, are you sure you're doing your job? Being a spy isn't that hard to do."

"They aren't on to me." Riley promised. "And if they are they don't know it's me. They trust me completely."

"Yeah, that air guardian seems to trust you enough." The guard snapped back. Riley took his focus away from the elders and set his glare on him.

"You wanna say that again, Black?" the guard remained silent. "That's what I thought."

"Now's not the time for fighting." The elder commanded tightly. "Riley, your father placed you in this position to ensure you would be ready to work under his beliefs when the time came." Riley almost rolled his eyes at the familiar words but remained respectful, He was so used to the lecture. _Your father would be disappointed, if only you were more like your brother. Blah, blah, blah, you will one day inherit the throne._ Sometimes Riley thought if it was even worth it. The more time he spent with Selena the more he thought of listening to his own advice.

Maybe he should just stick up for himself and say what he felt. That he didn't want the throne or anything that came with it. He just wanted to be normal, not a prince. Even if normal was under the qualities of Meridian where the 'normal' people begged for food on the streets. "And your duty to this planet. Riley, are you listening?"

"Completely." Riley lied.

"You need to separate the girls. It seems to be working thus far; the air guardian is already going against them." _Her name's Selena._ Riley felt like correcting for the thousandth time. "But you seem to be getting too attached."

"I'll say." Black scoffed. Riley sent him another glare. Demetrius Black was a complete ass kisser. He worshiped Riley's brother, the commander of the king's forces and thought the king, Riley's father, was a god.

"Black," The elder called. Demetrius snapped to attention. This time Riley actually did roll his eyes. "You will be assigned to work with Prince Riley. Try to keep an eye out for both of them, we all know how the prince seems to attract trouble." Riley sent Black a sly smile.

"Yes sir." Black agreed humbly.

"You are dismissed." The elders said at once. The guards emptied out of the large room but Riley stepped out of the door and waited until Black came out. Once the hallway was empty he grabbed the guard by the collar and slammed him against the wall, shoving his arm against his throat.

"Angry about our new arrangement, prince?" Black asked mockingly. Riley growled. "I know it was you who killed Clark in the school hallway. He touch your precious air guardian?" Riley slammed him harder and this time Black said nothing. Riley smiled.

"I think we both know I'm capable of winning a fight if it came down to the two of us. I've had more training, after all." Black looked at the prince, unsure of where this was going. Riley had to admit he had no idea how he had found out about Riley's feelings for Selena and he inwardly scolded himself for being so obvious. But on the outside Riley's face was still set in a mean scowl and you could see the resemblance between him and his scarred, nasty father in that moment. Black's eyes flashed with fear. "You touch, talk, or even _think_ about Selena, I'll kill you too."

"Selena, that's her name?" Riley glared harder. "You like her, don't you?" Riley pressed him harder against the wall before coming to his senses and dropping him. He couldn't _kill_ Black.

Well, not yet at least.

"Just don't talk to her." Riley turned and walked away, well aware of Black's breath of relief.

* * *

"You're pissed at me?" Derik asked while following Miranda in the hallway.

"I'm not pissed at you." Miranda said yet again before shouldering her book bag. Her tutoring sessions with Derik ended yesterday and since then she hadn't seen much of him. Him or Selena for that matter.

Miranda closed her green eyes and tried to think of something that would make Selena talk to her again. Maybe she could just follow her around until she gave in like Derik seemed to be doing.

"But you are pissed. I can tell because you crinkle your nose like that when your pissed and every time you see me you crinkle your nose."

"I do not!" Miranda defended, crossing her arms and crinkling her nose. Derik smiled down at her, blocking her locker. "You wanna move out the way?"

"I don't like Brooke." He informed. Miranda nodded.

"And this information is useful how?" Derik rolled his eyes and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Stop doing that." He commanded. Miranda looked at him in confusion. The hall way was filled with loud teenagers and school flyers were scattered along the ground.

"Doing what?"

"Confusing me. It's like one second you're completely into me and the next you don't give a shit if I'm ran over by a bus." Miranda looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"Oh, Derik, of course I'd give a shit if you were hit by a bus. Of course, I'd laugh and say that's what you get for walking into the street without looking but I'd still care if you died." Derik squinted his eyes down at her.

"Thanks?"

"You're welcome. Can I get my history book now?"

"Do you like me?"

"No, I treat all guys I hate like this." Miranda shoved at him and he let her get to her locker. She entered the combination while he waited for her impatiently.

"No, I mean _really_ like me."

"You should be asking that to the owner of the throat that was filled with your tongue the other day at lunch." Miranda switched her books trying not to look at him. He leaned closer, determined.

"I don't like Brooke."

"Then why'd you ask her to the dance?"

"Because I got all freaked out about asking you!" Miranda slammed her locker.

"So you asked another girl just because you were being too much of a punk. Who does that?" Derik held out his hands in surrender.

"Excuse me for finding you a little bit scary." He said. "You cuss like a sailor, confuse the shit out of me and are four feet of fury."

"4' 11", thank you very much!" Derik smiled and leaned back on the lockers.

"And this makes all the difference."

"Shut up, you know I'm sensitive about my height."

"Yeah, I know. I'm doing this wrong." Derik closed his eyes, took a deep breath and spoke again. "Miranda Yale, will you go out with me?"

"You mean be your next bimbo?" Derik's face dropped. "I'd be honored!" Derik frowned.

"Okay, you really need to stop playing with my emotions."

"I do what I want-." Derik pressed her against the locker. Miranda looked up at him, her words caught in her throat by the new lack of personal space. "What are you doing?"

"Something I've been dying to do since I bulldozed you into the ground on your first day." His smile was quickly pressed against her lips, softly messaging her lips while his hands went around her waist. Miranda smiled, pressing deeper into the kiss, standing on her tip toes.

Brooke and Bree stood on the opposite side of the hallway.

"Uh oh," Bree frowned. "They're kissing."

"I have eyes, Bree; I know what they're doing." Brooke rolled her eyes and took a nail filer out of her purse. She popped her bubble gum obnoxiously before setting to her nails hastily.

"You seem very calm about this." Bree noticed. "Shouldn't you be upset?" Brooke shook her head and sent Bree a knowing smile.

"Dear Bree, when you have the power to make anyone do what you want, nothing really surprises you." Bree scrunched her nose in confusion and looked over at the two love birds again.

"Wait, you made Derik ask out Miranda?" Bree asked. "I don't get it."

"I wasn't expecting you to. You don't even get SpongeBob." Brooke turned and strutted down the hallway, Bree following after her.

"Well, duh, how can fire happen under water?"

* * *

"Landa." Brooke smiled later that day. "You like hanging out with your new friends, right?" Yolanda paused in the middle of eating her salad, her fork just in front of her mouth. She lowered it and stared into the fake smiles of Brooke and Bree before turning to look at the other Raiders at the lunch table. They all seemed to be confused as to what was happening too so she put on a smile and answered,

"Sure. They're cool."

"Cooler than us?" Bree asked, blonde eyebrows scrunched together.

"I never said _that_."

"Might as well have, the decision's already been made anyways." Brooke shrugged while grabbing her V8 and drinking it down.

"What decision?" Yolanda asked glancing nervously around the table. Brooke looked at Yolanda surprised, her blue eyes wide.

"What do you mean? I thought you already knew!"

"Oh, well, this is awkward." Bree flushed. Yolanda looked at the rest of the table again only to be met with confused glances.

"Okay, what the hell are you two doing?"

"The auditions? Weren't you paying attention at all this week?" Bree chided. Yolanda sent her a _stop fucking with me_ look and Bree huffed before looking at Brooke for help.

"We decided to have everyone re-audition for their spots on Wednesday." Brook informed. Yolanda's eyes widened.

"But I had work on Wednesday!"

"No, you had your 'cool friends' on Wednesday and the Raiders wait for no one. Not even co-captains. Wait, _ex _co-captains."

"_Ex_?" Yolanda asked, her voice booming loudly across the Q. People at tables all turned to look at the popular table with wide eyes.

"Ex." Brooke and Bree nodded their blonde heads simultaneously. "No worries, we had a lot of people audition for your slot. I think Miranda was pretty good. What about you, Bree?"

"Totally," Bree smiled.

"Miranda?" Yolanda asked stupidly. "Miranda _Yale_?" Bree nodded.

"Calm down, Landa!" Bree sympathized. "We don't want to make this any harder for you."

"You can re audition if you want but your slot's been taken. Maybe you could be a flyer."

"Excuse me?" Yolanda screeched.

"But," Brooke said, ignoring her outburst. "As you know this table is reserved for Raiders only. You have to go."

"You have to vote!" Yolanda demanded. "Raider rules." Brooke glared.

"Fine, put it to a vote. All for Yolanda leaving?" Brooke turned to the table and her eyes turned red. "Raise your hands." The table eagerly raised their hands. "You're out. Leave."

Yolanda stood from the table, her face red. She picked up her juice and left her food at the seat, stomping across the Q. She passed Tayler and her friends who were pretending to ignore her dilemma, laughing. Miranda, Derik and Chris sat at a different table staring at her. She saw Derik's arm around Miranda and Chris's jealous glare and her face turned a completely darker shade of red.

"You can sit here if you want." Miranda suggested. "We've kinda been a threesome lately." Only Derik didn't know the reason for this. That Selena had ditched them because she didn't want to be friends with people who lied and kept secrets.

"With _you_?" Yolanda asked. She hated that her voice was wavering, that you could hear the tears threatening to come out. "Yeah, right. I'd rather fall off a roof." Miranda winced as Yolanda turned and walked off.

* * *

"What's going on?" Hay Lin asked that day after school as she glanced around to see all the girls sitting at all different tables.

"I'm not exactly on speaking terms with _her_ right now." Yolanda snapped in Miranda's direction.

"I'm texting- Tayler always reads over my shoulder." Hailey mumbled while typing quickly on her phone.

"I do no!" Tayler defended herself.

"Do too, ya drama freak!"

"I'm reading." Miranda mumbled as an excuse before she sent Selena a worried glance over her book. Chris was too, trying not to talk more than necessary, afraid to set her off.

"I'm highly allergic to sitting next to lying bitches." Selena muttered while flipping through more pages of her book. Tayler looked up at Selena surprised before sinking down in her seat.

"Okay, that's enough!" Hay Lin said coming from behind the counter. "You guys are just terrible. I mean, sure, my friends and I had our fights every now and then but we were _friends_."

"You were friends before the whole Guardians of the Veil thing though, weren't you?" Selena asked still flipping through pages. "I mean, it's not like _you_ found a hidden book in your house, went out in search of the people in it hoping for a chance at a life that would most likely be a thousand times more interesting than your regular one and ended up being disappointed by every single one of them?" Hay Lin sent Selena a glare and she threw her hands up in surrender. "I'm just creating a scenario. Came up with it off the top of my head."

"Whenever W.I.T.C.H. had a falling out, you know what we did?"

"Stood up on tables and sung to a choreographed show tune?" Hailey asked dully without looking up from her phone.

"What? No, we were teenagers, not Glee." Tayler smiled. Hay Lin continued, "We had a sleepover." Selena looked up from her book and Hailey finally stopped texting. The five girls looked at Hay Lin with wide eyes before bursting into frenzy.

"No, please!"

"I have a life now! You can't make me!"

"There is no way I'm staying in a room with _her_ for a whole night!"

"Now's not really the time."

"Do we need a repeat of the roof incident? Because this time it won't be me dangling for my life."

"No, Hay Lin, even _I_ think that's a bad idea." Chis finally spoke.

"No, it's final! A little reuniting and you guys will be set! This Friday, you're all free right?"

"Well, actually, Derik and I-."

"Good, you're all free. Be here by eight."

* * *

**AN: Finished this along with the last chapter but didn't have the oppertunity to upload until today. Hoped you enjoyed the awesomeness. :P. Don't forget to PM me any questions and I'll answer them in the next authors note.**

**Also, a new pole for this chapter on my profile page- don't forget to vote!**

_- Wynn-J_


	19. 18: I Think You Have to Piss

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 18: I Think You Have To Piss**

* * *

"Hey, Mila," Brian raced down the hallway Friday afternoon trying to stop the girl from leaving the hallway after Mock Trial practice. Mila rolled her eyes but stopped and turned around.

"What you want?" she asked, clearly uninterested. Brian shook it off, choosing not to let it embarrass him.

"I need your help with something." He blushed. Mila looked down at her nails and started buffing them on her shirt, gesturing him with her other hand to continue. "You're best friends with Hailey, right? And I thought she was into me but at the dance last week she asked _Tony_ to dance."

"Well, then I guess she's not into you." Mila smiled before turning her back again. Brian ran in front of her quickly, blocking the door with his body.

"And I was hoping you'd know how to change that. You know, give me some advice?" Brian asked his hazel eyes hopeful. He looked down at her on the verge of creating a puppy dog face and Mila fought the urge to slap him. Hailey was using him, why should he try this hard to get a girl who was only after him so he could write some stupid recommendation letter?

Just then, Mila smiled, the light bulb coming on in her head.

"You know what, Brian? I have the perfect advice for you."

* * *

Chris took a deep breath before raising his hand to knock on the door. He could do this; it wasn't as if the world would explode or something.

As soon as the thought ended in his head he lowered his hand and stepped off the concrete porch that led to Selena's house. She couldn't stay mad at him forever- she was his sister no matter how many times Selena denied it.

But that didn't mean he had to risk going through the front door.

Chris swallowed his pride and made his way around the house to a window at the back. By looking through the tiny slits in the curtain he could tell it was Selena's. He looked around for something to pick the lock and settled for a rusty nail that lay on the ground.

With a few clicks, Chris opened the window and pushed the curtain aside to step into the small bedroom. Her bed was unmade and there were clothes thrown across the floor. When Chris turned he saw that one of the doors to her closet had been blown off its hinges.

Chris smiled before wondering if he would have to wait until Selena entered her room to talk to her. He sat on the bed and realized he didn't have to wait long.

The door opened and Chris recognized the light brown hair and tan skin. He stood up immediately only to see it wasn't Selena who had come into the room.

"Um, hey." Chris smiled awkwardly to his wide-eyed mother.

* * *

"I think we're supposed to be bonding." Tayler said awkwardly looking at the four girls in front of her. She had already changed into her PJs unlike Selena and Hailey. Yolanda wore a silk pink gown that showed off her curves and her hair was pulled back in a tight bun, its usual curls now straight as bone.

Miranda was wearing a Wolverine T-shirt with PJ shorts so small it looked like she was wearing nothing at all. The outfit only made her seem smaller and her trademark black bangs were staring to grow long enough to get in her eyes.

"So?" Hailey asked still staring down at her phone, jabbing at it expressively. Tayler groaned.

"Who have you been texting?" she asked aggravated. Hailey only sent her a knowing smile before looking back down. Tayler crossed her arms and angrily sat down on the large bed. Selena was lying down on it, making the air cold then hot then cold again out of boredom. No one wanted to comment on it.

Miranda looked over at Tayler from then floor where she was playing with the carpet. Hay Lin's guest room was big but she had taken out the TV and computer so they would be forced to talk.

"Can't you just read her mind?" Yolanda asked from a revolving chair that went to the empty computer desk. She had been spinning for the past half hour and her voice dripped with boredom.

"Like I haven't tried." Tayler frowned. "She found a way to block me." Hailey smirked, looking up to Tayler to stick out her tongue. Out of all five, Tayler and Hailey had bonded the most for some unknown reason. They talked to each other during school and Yolanda even saw them sitting at the same lunch table once.

"You can block that?" Yolanda asked wide-eyed. "How?" Hailey shrugged.

"It's not really _blocking_ per say." Hailey informed. "More like thinking about something entirely different than what you're doing."

"And it's pissing me off." Tayler grumbled, crossing her arms. "She should at least think of something interesting. So far, all I've got is an explanation on the Pythagorean Theory and monomials."

"I have no idea what either of those things are." Yolanda said dully. Tayler looked to her thankfully.

"See, Hailey? _Someone_ gets it." Hailey smiled at her phone before picking up a pillow and throwing it at Tayler. She caught it and waved it cockily. "Loser." She said.

"How about we _all_ do something fun?" Miranda suggested while uncrossing her legs and stretching them out in front of her. "Let's play a game." Selena propped herself up on her arms and pointed to Miranda.

"Shortie's got a point." Selena said with a smile. Miranda frowned. "How 'bout some Truth or Dare?" The girls looked at each other questionably. "Come on guys. Live a little."

"How about just truth?" Yolanda asked leaving the chair to sit by Hailey in front of the bed. "We'll make it interesting." The girls joined them on the floor and sat in a circle while Yolanda stood and grabbed a hat off of one of the shelves. "Hailey drop the phone." Yolanda instructed, putting the hat in the center of the circle.

"No." Hailey said, texting eagerly. Yolanda pushed her hand forward and whipped it back, sending Hailey's phone into the wall where the battery fell out. "Hey!"

"No phones." Yolanda said simply before sitting down next to her and ripping up a piece of computer printer paper and handing out pencils. "Okay, Hailey, I want you to focus _really_ hard, you got it?"

"Why?" Hailey asked suspiciously while moving her feet under her. Yolanda smoothed her hair down as if it had any chance of coming out of the bun.

"Because, you're gonna do that mind thingy."

"No." Hailey scowled. "Unless you'd like a repeat of what happened last time-."

"What happened last time?" Miranda asked. They ignored her.

"Then I suggest we move on." Hailey finished. Tayler had her arms lying on her pajama-clad knees boredly.

"Come on, Hay, how do you expect to get better if you never practice?" Tayler asked.

"Exactly," Hailey pointed out. "I don't expect to get better and I don't even want the power in the first place." Tayler shook her head.

Yolanda spoke, "Well too bad. Because you have it and we're playing a game." Yolanda smiled brightly and held up her pencil. "Make us write our most embarrassing secret."

"Whoa, whoa, wait," Miranda said holding up her hand. "I don't know about the rest of you but I'm not exactly the most trusting person with all of you guys just yet." Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Okay, rules. Everything learned in this stays a secret- no matter what." Yolanda pronounced. "If you tell a secret the rest of us have the right to tell yours."

"And we'll shave your head!" Tayler added.

"No shaving, ignore her." Hailey grumbled. They all looked to her expectantly. Well, all except Selena who gazed at her, bored, before sighing loudly. "Alright fine." Hailey said while wiggling into a more comfortable position. "Write your most embarrassing secret on the paper and then put it in the hat."

The girls complied with the request and waited obediently for the next order. Well, all except Tayler.

"Wanna hurry this up, Hay?" Tayler asked out the side of her mouth, her eyes closed like every one else's, while Hailey looked around the circle nervously.

"You aren't all zombie-like." Hailey noticed. Tayler nodded and opened one eye. "Why?"

"I don't know." Tayler said impatiently. "Un-zombie them so I can go to sleep, will ya?" Hailey nodded and looked at the other girls nervously.

"Wake up?" The girls opened their eyes. "Ha! I did it! I did it!"

"Calm it down." Tayler said trying to quell her. They all looked to Yolanda who smiled before reaching in the hat and grabbing a secret.

"Okay, we all pick one and read it aloud and then we guess who wrote it. If it was you you're not allowed to tell us. Got it?" She was met with groans. "Good." She looked at the paper. "'I haven't seen my father in two years.'" Yolanda read. They were quiet a moment.

"How is that embarrassing?" Selena asked somewhat rudely.

"It's not embarrassing, more like sad." Tayler commented. Hailey nodded.

"Yeah, I agree." She said. "I have seen _my_ dad since…well, I haven't seen my dad." Yolanda dropped the paper.

"It was Miranda." She announced. "I remember because…" _Because you got a black eye? _Tayler asked. "Well, yeah."

"My turn!" Hailey exclaimed, reaching into the hat and pulling out a slip of paper. "This one's blank." She frowned "My guess is Tayler." Tayler scoffed.

"Please, I'm not the type to blank something."

"Yep," Miranda agreed. "Tayler _always_ has something to say." Hailey laughed.

"Well, then who was it?" Yolanda asked impatiently. Selena raised her hand. "You broke the rules; you were supposed to write something."

"I did." Selena deadpanned before motioning for Hailey to look again.

"'I feel invisible.'" Hailey read. The words had appeared in a bold and large script on the page.

"That's deep." Tayler nodded

"That's also no a secret noticing how she can actually _become_ invisible." Yolanda grumbled. Selena shrugged.

"Sorry, I'm not as interesting as someone like you." Selena apologized, mocking sincerity. Tayler smiled but made no move to laugh.

"My turn." Tayler said reaching into the hat. "'I'm poor'." Miranda was almost sure it was Selena due to the fact she was struggling with financial issues but Selena had already given up her secret. Hailey, on the other hand, thought it was Tayler.

"Tayler?" Hailey asked quizzaly. Tayler laughed.

"Yeah, because I can get _this_ sexiness at a thrift shop." Tayler scoffed, laying her head on the bed behind her.

"Oh, it's me!" Yolanda yelled exasperated.

"You're poor?" Miranda asked, her voice clearly unbelieving, thinking this whole thing was a joke.

"Not family wise I meant that…" Yolanda paused before swallowing her pride and rolling her eyes. "My dad cut me off so I have to work at the Silver Dragon and I spent all my money on that dress."

"Money well spent." Selena said sarcastically, nodding her head.

"That sucks." Hailey frowned.

"Really?" Tayler asked squinting her eyes in confusion. "I think it's well deserved." Miranda laughed while Yolanda raised her hand sending a pillow off the bed and at Tayler's face. It was flying with incredible speed so Miranda couldn't hide her tiny gasp whenever Tayler caught it and held it up in the air. "Am I awesome, or what?"

"What." Yolanda grumbled.

"My turn." Selena rolled her eyes while fishing through the hat. She took out the paper and read. "'I'm trying to seduce a nerd.'" She read. Tayler immediately burst into a fit of giggles. "Well, let's see, whose life is terrible enough to try to attempt that?" Hailey glared. "Oh, the adopted red-head. I should've known."

"Hey," Tayler said offensively while putting an arm around Hailey. "Don't down her hair. It's as fire-y as me."

"Nice word play." Yolanda rolled her eyes before receiving a thank you. "Well, it's Miranda's turn and Tayler is the only one who hasn't got her secret read." Yolanda picked up the hat and offered it to the shortest girl while Tayler tensed, removing her arm from around Hailey.

"You don't have to read that." Tayler assured politely.

"Yes, she does." Yolanda said idly. "It's the rules." Miranda put her hand into the hat and pulled out the slip.

"No, really, it's cool." Tayler persuaded. Miranda held the slip hesitantly.

"Why, what are you keeping?" Yolanda asked.

"Nothing." Tayler said, trying to appear relaxed. Miranda looked down at the slip and began to read before it caught fire in her hands and turned to ashes in under a second.

"Hey, you could've burned me!" Miranda yelled.

"Sorry." Tayler shrugged.

"You ruined the game!" Yolanda growled, crossing her arms. "Now you have to say it."

"No." Tayler said stubbornly.

"She shouldn't have to if she doesn't want to; this is a stupid game anyways." Hailey said attempting to change the conversation's topic even though she wondered too what her friend was keeping.

Tayler sent Selena a nervous glance before looking down at her toes and Selena's eyes widened.

"Tayler," Selena said calmly. "You're secret isn't what I think it is, right?"

"Depends on what you're thinking." Tayler said. The carpet had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world and Tayler found herself playing with the soft ground.

"As if you can't read my mind." Selena scoffed.

"What is it?" Yolanda asked nosily. Selena glared at Tayler, trying to get her to open her mouth. Whenever that seemed out of the question, Selena opened her own.

_You promised not to say anything._ Selena immediately closed her mouth and looked to Tayler who was still playing with the floor. That was the first time she'd heard Tayler inside her head other than when she'd first met Riley and it was kind of freaking her out.

_You promised it stopped in 5__th__ grade._ Selena thought back.

_It did._ Tayler thought back, but Selena could tell she was lying. "What is it?" Yolanda asked again out loud growing impatient. Hailey and Miranda looked with interest. Selena shrugged.

"Just some stupid shit about how to ruin a friendship." Selena said standing. "You're good at that, right Tayler?" Tayler remained silent but Selena smiled anyways. "I'm gonna change into my jammies."

* * *

"What the hell was that?" Tayler asked popping up from her lying position on the floor. The clock read 2 o'clock am and the girls were sleeping, one of them snoring loudly.

"What was what?" Yolanda asked groggily before turning in her sleep.

"Guys?" Tayler asked into the dark. "Guys, wake up." Whenever no one moved Tayler went inside their heads. _Wake up!_

"Ah!" Hailey violently tore out of her sleep and there was a giant slam as something collided with the ground. Selena groaned. "What happened?"

"Ugh," Selena grunted "You know I float in my sleep, Tayler." Selena sat up and rubbed her head where she could feel a knot forming.

"What's going on?" Miranda asked into the darkness. No one had moved to get to the light yet and the room was completely dark.

"I felt something." Tayler said, wide-eyed. The girls groaned.

"You woke us up 'cause you have to take a piss?" Yolanda complained. Hailey giggled while Tayler slapped the girl on the arm.

"I didn't feel _that_ I felt something else. I think a portal's opening." Tayler informed. More groans.

"Seriously, Tay, I think you just have to piss."

"Shut up, Landa!" Tayler rebuked "I'm serious."

"And I'm going back to sleep." Selena said before lying back down and floating back into the air, her hair dangling below her. Around Tayler the other girls began to go to sleep again and minutes later she heard the snoring again. _I'm not crazy._ Tayler promised herself before standing and leaving the guest room, the cold air hitting her bare legs.

* * *

**AN: I was going to upload this earlier so I apologize! Keep messaging me those questions about the stories and I'll try to answer them in an upcoming chapter. Thanks!**

_- Wynn-J_


	20. 19: Two Who

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 19: Two Who's**

* * *

Hailey didn't know exactly what woke her up but whenever she did and saw Tayler's sleeping bag was vacant, she woke everyone else up. She walked to the light switch and flicked it on without warning.

Miranda groaned while sitting up in the bed, rubbing at her eyes. Yolanda still lay asleep, her eyes bring covered with her mask. Selena was still hovering in the air before she opened her eyes and landed harshly on the ground for the second time that night. She grumbled and rubbed her head, her loose brown curls in a frizzy mess.

_She looks better with her hair in curls._ Miranda thought while looking at Selena as she fixed her glare on Hailey. _I should tell her that. Whenever we start talking again that is._

"Are you trying to give me a concussion or something?" Selena hissed before looking over to see Yolanda peaceful at rest. Sending her hand forward, Selena ripped off the mask violently with her powers and Yolanda winced.

"Hey!" she said groggily.

"If I have to wake up the whole world's got to wake up." Selena grumbled.

"Where's Tayler?" Hailey asked crossing her arms. Miranda looked around the room sleepily, just now noticing the girl's disappearance.

"Oh, yeah." Miranda said scratching her head. "Where is she?"

"I was just asking _you_." Hailey snapped back. Miranda rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry; my sarcastic comebacks don't operate in hours before 8 am."

"That comment was sarcastic and it's 3:30." Selena stated dryly. Miranda flipped her hand at her absentmindedly before falling back into the cushions. "Why did Miranda get to sleep in the bed again?"

"Guys!" Hailey yelled. "Tayler's _gone_ in case you haven't noticed!"

"I thought she said she had to take a piss." Yolanda asked innocent from sleep. She rubbed her eyes. In the background, Selena slowly began to float back into the air, her eyes closed.

"No, that's what _you_ said." Hailey glared.

"I said I had to piss?" Yolanda asked trying to remember the pass thirty minutes. Hailey rolled her eyes and made a sound of frustration.

"Tayler must've gone to find the portal."

"There's a portal?" Miranda asked sleepily. Selena snored loudly before turning in the air. "Did I miss something?"

"Tayler's out there being…_Tayler_." Hailey said, uncrossing her arms to motion to the opened doorway. Yolanda pulled her sleeping mask back on.

"We should alert the city." She yawned before turning on her side. Hailey glared at the girls in the room before stomping over to the door and slamming it shut with all her strength. The noise boomed through the house and woke up Hay Lin from the floor below.

The girls in the room yelled and this time Selena caught herself just before she hit the ground, her nose barely touching the carpet.

"We're leaving." Hailey informed.

"You can if you want; _I'm_ staying." Selena declared, sitting crisscross in the middle of the air and folded her arms defiantly. Yolanda pulled off her mask and looked over at the levitating girl on the other side of the room.

"If she gets to stay so do I."

"_GET OFF YOUR LAZY ASSES AND GO OUT THIS DOOR!_" Yolanda bolted up right, standing and dusting off her sleeping gown.

"Well, I guess we should get going then. This slumber party was getting boring anyways." Yolanda said while skipping to the door. Selena frowned, uncrossing her legs and floating to the ground before marching out the door with a scowl.

"And to think I actually thought I'd be getting _sleep_ at a _sleep over_. Silly me."

Miranda followed in suit, hugging the necklace to her chest. Behind them, Hailey slammed the door shut and angrily marched behind them out of the building, her fuzzy bunny slippers flapping in the cold wind.

* * *

_Where the hell is Tayler?_ Yolanda asked as she dodged a bird that was flying in the air. The girls were in their guardian form, searching the city. They were all next to eatchother and speaking could've been used but Yolanda had already opened her mouth to say something once and -she wasn't sure- but she thought a bug made its way in.

_She must be close if she can still broadcast our thoughts._ Miranda reasoned

_Yeah, but _how_ close?_ Hailey thought while trying to fly and hide her midsection. Selena rolled her eyes at the redhead but said (or thought) nothing.

_Help!_ It was Tayler, her voice barely a faint whisper in the corner of their minds.

_Tayler? _Hailey thought hopefully.

_What's happening?_ Miranda thought.

_No time to explain. Just get to Cardles Hospital on May Street. Hurry!_ Yolanda's eyes widened as she thought in a whiny voice,

_May Street? That's on the other side of town!_

_Hurry it up!_ Tayler thought back harshly. _The guards have made a reappearance._

* * *

Heatherfield, New York was filled with many places, most of which were happy and delightful. But of course, those stupid Meridian guards would find a place there where all the happiness had been drained out for a good decade.

"Why exactly are they intruding on an abandoned hospital?" Yolanda asked in a whisper. The girls, Tayler now included, were walking along one of the inside halls of the hospital where it seemed like hell…well, in a hospital version.

"How would we know?" Selena asked grumpily, arms crossed. She was walking out in the open in the center of the hall, apparently unafraid if they ran into a guard. Her hair was in a tight braid on her back and she pulled at it with aggravation, her always being used to wearing her hair out. And with her head band.

"Ever consider that maybe I was asking Ms. Know-It-All?" Yolanda snapped back before Hailey shushed her.

"Well, I don't know why they're here." Miranda said exasperatedly as they made their way into was used to me the main lobby. The reception desk was covered in dust, the floor littered with paper. The revolving door was stuck, not that anyone had tried to use it and in one of the back rooms behind the desk, the guards were ripping through files and boxes viciously. "Oh, shit." Miranda gasped silently when she saw them.

They were too busy searching to notice the guardians had stumbled into the next room but there was a window and all it took was for one of them to look up to notice.

"Hide!" Tayler whispered before trying to dash in the opposite direction. Selena rolled her eyes before catching Tayler by the sleeve and pulling her back. When Tayler turned to look at her, Selena was vanishing into thin air. "Wha.." Tayler looked down to see her hand was gone, then her whole arm. "Whoa, sick."

"Shut up, they can still hear." Yolanda scolded but Tayler couldn't see where from. A guard heard the noise and looked up through the window, his face hidden behind a mask. "Do we fight?" Yolanda whispered silently.

"Or we could eavesdrop." Hailey suggested before making her way to the room and steeping bravely through the door. The others followed, not really knowing where the others were.

The guards were opening filing cabinets, searching through pockets, taking out papers and throwing others to the ground.

_What are they doing?_ Miranda asked from a corner.

_Can't we just hope it's a new kind of recycling and move on with our lives? _Tayler asked hopefully. _You know, maybe at Silver Dragon and not a creepy, old hospital?_

_Oh, but where's the fun in that?_ Selena asked going up behind a guard who was leaning over a filing cabinet and ripping at files.

"Boys, I think we have company." The girls turned to see a large guard blocking the only entrance to the small room.

_He can see us?_ Tayler asked as the guard raised his hand at Miranda who was standing wide-eyed in her corner. His hand began to take on a light, a ball of energy ready to be released from his hand.

_He can see us._ Yolanda answered before throwing her hands up and sending the guard away from the door. It seemed that no one else knew what was going on and stared as the guard was flung down the hall from what appeared to be nothing.

_Might as well have some fun._ Selena thought to herself before reappearing in front of the guard by the floor, suddenly in his face. He scrambled back, shocked and Selena smiled.

"Boo." Selena smirked. The guard recovered quickly, opening his fists and revealing blue sparks that flowed between his fingers. He lunged at her but she vanished again a reappeared at the doorway before taking off back into the lobby.

The other girls followed her, now visible and they stood in the waiting room, the guards taking position on the other side. The guards snarled and yelled, magic seeming to radiate off them everywhere it could. But Yolanda didn't let it scare her (to the point of cowering back, that is.) and she raised her hands. At first nothing happened, only her hair starting to blow in her face but then the windows behind them broke and vines began piling in through the door, wrapping themselves along the walls.

Hailey looked around for a water source but after finding nothing, only raised her palm and hoped before pipes began bursting out of the walls shooting water onto the floor. Tayler watched the two show off before thinking with a whine _I wanna do something too!_ She lifted her arms and became engulfed in flames while hoping the guards didn't get new flame-retardant suits from the last time they had a battle.

_She's enjoying this way too much._ Yolanda thought sending a concerning glance in Tayler's direction before a guard stepped out of the crowd, his hands up in surrender. _Is he giving up?_

_Maybe he's trying to trick us. _Hailey thought back.

_He's probably realized our awesomeness was too much for them._ Tayler thought with a smile before containing her flames as giving the guard a glare.

"Calm down, Guardians." The guard spoke, his voice deep and reassuring. His voice was loud, clear and immensely familiar to Tayler. _Familiar?_ She thought. She racked her brain for a reason for this before coming up short. "We mean no trouble."

"Yes, that's definitely the message we got from you all." Miranda said snarkily before blowing a bang out of her face. As a guardian, her hair was down which was how she wore it on rare occasions.

"We apologize." He said. Even though Miranda couldn't see his face she could hear his condescending smile and that made her angrier. His tone implied that he knew something she didn't, something important and she didn't like the feeling it gave her. "We wouldn't want to make the guardians of legend act out of character."

_Legend?_ Hailey thought. _What legend?_ She turned to Selena hopefully but the girl was gone. _Selena? Guys, where's Selena?_

_Probably sulking outside._ Yolanda thought back, crossing her arms and giving the guard a sly smile. _Just pretend we know what he's talking about._

"You haven't seen us out of character yet." Yolanda said, her tone bored. "Just pissed that you decide to come onto our turf at such moments of our inconvenience." The guard chuckled at that and Yolanda was surprised by how warm it sounded but otherwise kept her face stoic.

"Our apologizes, we'll send someone over with a schedule right away." Yolanda made a sarcastic laugh before rolling her eyes and flipping her hair.

"No, it's cool- just leave." She snapped. _Hey, Landa?_ Tayler asked. _New plan: Let's _not_ make the people with unknown powers angry, okay?_

"That's not happening any time soon." The guard promised.

"What do you want?" Hailey asked using the voice she used on cross-examinations in Mock Trial.

"Not a what." The guard stated. "A who. Two, to be exact." _Guys, where's Selena?_ Hailey thought again to the group but no one listened, all the girls too caught up in what he was saying. "Maybe you girls wouldn't mind helping."

"Oh, yes," Tayler nodded. "We thrive on helping the people who ruin our dances by trying to _kill us_."

"And yet, you're all still here." The guard reminded. _Except Selena._ Hailey thought. _They've got Selena._

_Selena's fine!_ Yolanda thought. _Let's focus on us._ Hailey wanted to argue but Yolanda left no room for it. But Yolanda was worried too, only for a different reason. She'd noticed Selena walking away slowly earlier when they'd just entered the lobby.

And she'd also noticed Selena motioning for a guard to follow her before she made her exit.

* * *

**AN: What tis be going on, young gentlemen and maids? Thy hopes thee enjoyed the chapter. Go to, and review, comrades and cuz! For I am typing lamely in Shakespearean English due to a stupid friend that be monitoring my screen withal me and promising a cup of cake if I typith like this.**

**It was a fail, yes but blame our teacher who's making us read Romeo and Juliet, a play I have read many times and still fail to see how Romeo could be in "love" with two chicks in one scene.**

**ANYWAYS, more on Chris and Irma's situation, Tayler's secret, Selena and Riley, and "The Legend" in chapters soon to come. don't miss this weeks poll, "Whos's your favorite couple/pairing in MYTHS?" (Personally, I'm leaning towards Riley.) **

**Anything confusing you or something you need me to comment on? Keep PMing me those questions! Answers will mostlikely be comming in chapter twenty or twenty-one. Thatnks for reading!**

**Later, I must get that cupcake.**

**Good-den!**

_- Wynn-J_


	21. 20: Bitch Fit Offers

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 20: Bitch Fit Offers**

* * *

Selena wasn't exactly sure what she was doing but she knew that something had to be done and this was the only thing she could think of. MYTHS didn't need her, didn't even want her. And if that was so then she didn't want them.

Besides, what kind of friend lets you fall off of a roof while you're in a state of shock? Exactly!

Selena made her way down one of the hallways and the small sound of footsteps told her the guard was following. Of course, there was no way to know for sure if it was the right guard or even who the guard was but she was getting closer.

She stopped at a random door and busted the lock before stepping inside and leaving the door open. She had her back to the door and was taking slow, even breaths try to talk herself out of doing what she was about to do but there was a small part of her that cheered her on. _Go on, Selena!_ She thought, _Stick up for yourself._

Selena turned around and was shocked when she saw not one guard but two. One was a little taller and more muscular but the other one had an air of confidence around him. She had no idea which one had saved her so she looked at no particular one while saying, "I see you've brought a friend."

Neither guards replied and Selena felt her palms beginning to sweat. _Be confident._ Selena told herself. _You're the only one who's trying to help you._ "I guess I'll be doing all the talking then."

She turned around to survey the small hospital room.

"I don't know which one of you helped me and to be honest I don't really care. I just need to you hear me out." She looked at both of them with raised eyebrows, waiting for one to talk. "I wanna join you."

* * *

"Exactly who are you searching for?" Miranda asked stepping in front of Yolanda. "And why?" The guard scoffed.

"We've gotten ourselves into a little trouble, they'll help us out." The hospital was still dark and Tayler was silently begging for rays of sunshine to come through the window and make the guards vanish but they stayed- scary and shiver-inducing as ever.

"So they'll be doing you a favor?"

"Something like that." Miranda gave him a suspicious look before consulting with the girls in her mind. _I think he's up to something._

_No, really?_ Hailey thought. _I only thought he wanted to open up a lemonade stand. In case you haven't noticed, they've broken five laws within the past two weeks!_

_Of course you were counting._ Yolanda scoffed.

_What do you think we should do?_ Miranda said trying to steer the girls back on track.

_I think we should get masks. It creates an air of mystery._ Tayler reasoned. Miranda shot her a glare. _Fine. I say we figure out what he wants and then see what he's _really_ planning. He's obviously keeping stuff from us._

"What do you really want?" Tayler asked, voicing her thoughts. The guard shook his head.

"We would never lie to the guardians of legend." He promised. His voice was so familiar it hurt but Tayler didn't comment.

_What fucking legend?_ Yolanda asked exasperated.

"Who are you looking for?" Hailey asked lowering her arms so the stood at her side, ignoring the giant reveal of her body.

"Two girls. We believe they go to your school."

_Any chance they want to take and kill Brooke and Bree? I'm all for it._ Yolanda thought happily. "They're birth records are missing inconveniently. Someone wanted them hidden."

"Like illegal immigrants or something?" Yolanda asked twirling her hair. Just as Miranda was about to say that was a stupid idea, the guard nodded.

"Something very much like that, yes."

"And if we help you what do we get?" Miranda asked, crossing her arms.

"A shortened schedule."

* * *

"M.Y.T.H.S. isn't exactly my thing, ya know?" Selena asked. "I just need you. Or both of you, I guess." The guards looked at one another before one took a step towards her. He came at her in a slow pace, as if afraid if he came too fast, the whole world would fade away.

He'd only took two steps before Selena lifted her hand and flung him at the wall, keeping him there. "It was you." She said to the guard who stood in front of her. "You're the one who saved me. I know, you have a limp." Riley made a move to open his mouth-to speak to her but remain silent. "Look, I don't want to join _all_ of you, just you. Or more like, you join me." Riley had no idea where Selena was going with this.

"What do you mean?" he asked, finally speaking. Selena held her smile inside whenever she heard his voice.

"Riley." Her voice was quiet as she made the realization. The one who saved her, the only one who seemed to actually care was Riley. And that comforted her more than she thought it would. She couldn't help it, the smile spread across her face like butter on fresh made toast. The guard on the wall squirmed but she held him against it tighter. "You're Riley."

"Yeah." Riley nodded. He pushed at the collar of his suit and the helmet slid off and onto the floor. Riley looked sleep deprived and kind of sad but is eyes were still beautiful and his hair still disheveled in that familiar way.

"You left that book mark in my book?" she asked. Riley shrugged.

"Figured someone ought to tell you." She wondered how long Riley knew. He could've known all along. He was a spy after all. But she wasn't angry at him. Not at all.

"Thank you for that." She nodded. "I want to make you an offer." She dropped the guard on the wall and he pulled off his helmet. He was beautiful so Selena looked away from him as soon as he did but she couldn't help looking back. His hair was shiny, curly and black, his skin olive-toned and his eyes were dark. But he wore a scowl which threw off the good looks temporarily.

"Good going, Riley." He growled. "Now we're screwed."

"Not if we think through this Black." Riley smiled back charmingly. "Selena's making us an offer. Weren't you?" Selena almost felt afraid of him. He was still Riley but now he was different. Now he seemed older, more experienced. Like he could crush her with one blow. But Selena ignored all of that.

"M.Y.T.H. is going to go out in a second." Selena spoke calmly. "They argue every second, never get anything done and have no idea how to control their powers." Riley and Black stood next to each other, listening. She was making good points but they still had no idea where she was going with all this. "But you guys. You're different. And I'm different. I mean, I'm not fantastic but I always do the best at training, I'm going somewhere while they suck."

"So?" Black asked rudely. "Why should we care?"

"Because M.Y.T.H. is obviously going to fail at being protectors of the veil. But if we got together, we could help your cause and mine." Selena smiled. Riley raised an eyebrow. He could feel his Selena slipping away. His nice, sweet and innocent Selena. Not that she was ever really _his_ but he still like to think of it that way.

"And what exactly is your cause?" he asked.

"Getting rid of M.Y.T.H." Selena shrugged. "The S was unnecessary anyways."

* * *

"What happened?" Hay Lin asked as the five girls sauntered in Silver Dragon an hour later. "Where were you? I heard a loud bang and then-."

"We're fine." Selena snapped while sitting in a booth.

"It seems Tayler can sense portals now." Hailey said while sitting beside her friend at a table. Yolanda sat there also but Miranda sat on the floor in between the table and the booth, her large T-shirt covering her entirely.

"You can so that?" Hay Lin asked unbelievably. Tayler nodded before resting her heavy head on her fist, letting out a yawn. "Guardians don't have that power."

"Yeah, well, apparently the Guardians of Legend do." Hailey informed. "Is there a legend we don't know about?"

"None I'm aware of." Hay Lin, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion.

"Well, we figured out what the guards want. We had a little chat." Miranda informed. "There looking for two girls who go to our school. Two girls who are here most likely illegally."

"Probably people from Meridian." Hay Line suggested.

"They said they got into trouble and they need their help." Yolanda summarized. Hay Lin raised an eyebrow.

"They need help from 14-year-olds?"

"It appears so." Tayler yawned before slamming her head on the table.

"Regular 14-year-olds no. Ones with powers? Yes." Miranda nodded. "But we're the only ones with powers, right? So he wants two of us."

"No, there's another one." Yolanda nodded. "Brooke."

"Bitchy Brooke has powers?" Hailey asked

"What did you think made her so bitchy?" Tayler answered from her sleep. Yolanda stood and faced the group.

"Look, whenever Brooke kicked me out that table Friday, she used magic to do it. I could feel it, _see_ it. Her eyes-they were _horrifying._"

"I think she might have persuasion." Hay Lin nodded. "Something similar to what Hailey's got. Probably more watered down though."

"How can she have powers?" Miranda pointed out. "You can't just be given powers for no reason."

"People at your school had powers besides the guardians, right?" Hay Lin shook her head before nodding at Hailey question.

"One. Elyon. But she was an heir-a princess to the Meridian throne."

"Brook as a princess?" Yolanda scoffed. "Now that would actually make a little sense. She's got the snooty part down."

"Oh, most definitely." Hailey agreed. "But why do they want the princess? They already have the throne." Selena rolled her eyes from the booth.

"The throne might be theirs but they can be overthrown if the heir suddenly shows up." She informed. "They want to kill her."

"I'm not seeing the problem." Yolanda said dryly. "We're getting rid of the guards and Brooke, two birds, one stone." Miranda sent her a glare. Before Miranda could scold Yolanda for her rude comment, the door opened and in walked Chris, his mother behind him.

* * *

"Irma." Hay Lin nodded with a smile whenever he old friend walked through the door. Irma almost found herself smiling back and going to hug her before reminding herself of what was happening and crossing her arms.

"Hay Lin," Irma began before Hay Lin cut her off with a wide smile. She went up and hugged Irma herself since it seemed Irma couldn't do it.

"Look. I know you want to lecture me right now on my breaking the rules but there are bigger problems." Hay Lin informed. "I see you've found your son." As soon as the words came all everyone turned to Selena who was still sitting in the booth.

Chris had joined her and was trying to tell her something but she wasn't listening. She glared at him before they both noticed they were being stared at.

"What?" Selena snapped to everyone. Irma sighed.

"Look, sweetie, I know you probably have a lot of questions right now but-."

"You don't? You're saying your son just poofs up one day and it's cool? You've got everything under control, right _mom_? Or should I even call you that? I have no idea who anyone is in all this crazy shit."

"Selena, language." Irma frowned. Selena scoffed and crossed her arms. "We can talk later but right now I need to talk to Hay Lin."

"Oh, no that can wait." Hay Lin assured stepping away from Irma. "How about we just learn more about the hospital invasion." Yolanda played with a flower that was in a vase on the table.

She said dully, "Well, Selena disappeared." _With a guard._ She didn't want to say the last part. Not yet, at least.

"Yeah. Where did you go?" Hailey asked curiously. Selena smiled.

"Oh, you know, just went to check out for any new suicide attempts so I could let you all know some ideas so you could get planning since the roof thing didn't work out."

"She gets her cynical humor from you." Hay Lin informed with a whisper to Irma who rolled her eyes.

"Get over it, Selena!" Yolanda snapped. "You're fine, what's the big deal?"

"The fact that you even have to ask that is enough reason to…." Selena stopped herself, took a deep breath, and just looked down at her fist that were clenched on the table. INside she felt something burst, like a match that had been waiting forever and was finally being lit. Yolanda must've felt it too because her eyes sparked.

"Enough to what?" Yolanda asked with a glare, standing from her chair. "You want to threaten me, Selena?" Yolanda walked over to the booth and the other girls stood around her, holding her back.

"No fighting!" Hay Lin yelled but the girls ignored her and Yolanda stared down at Selena in the booth with a glare.

"You can't do anything. Really, you can try me because I've been having some bad days and you've tricked the switch." Yolanda sneered. "So go ahead! Hit me! Slap, punch, whatever! I'm ready for you!"

"Landa, calm down!" Hailey ordered but Yolanda still leaned over Selena who was physically shaking with anger, Yolanda basically doing the same. Selena only stared up at her and Yolanda smiled.

"See, you can't do anything!"

"Yolanda, _shut up_." Chris demanded. Yolanda ignored him.

"Wanna know why?" she continued getting in Selena's face. "Because you're weak! You can't stand up for yourself, you can't fight, you can't do anything! You're useless!" Yolanda scoffed and crssed her arms. "So much of a coward that you don't even deserve what suckish powers you have!" Selena stood suddenly and leaned over so she was right in front of Yolanda, her breath on the other girls face and her eyes bright with anger so real it almost scared her.

"Get ready to eat those words, _bitch_." Selena growled before pulling herself out of the booth and marching out the door and as soon as she did, Yolanda fell to the floor, unconscious.

Hailey and Miranda tried catching her, Chris glared at the motionless body and Hay Lin and Irma watched dumbly.

But Tayler was still sleeping.

* * *

**AN: Well, Yolanda's bitch fits are coming to an end as we all can see. I do enjoy writing this story, sometimes I even surprise myself…well, actually not really but whatever. I've gotten my cupcake but now my friend taunts me with cookies…hm.**

**Update comes again on Sunday, Saturday if I get more PM questions and answers to the poll on my profile. Come on! All ya gotta do is press the name at the top next to the title and vote like there's no tomorrow!**

**Fill free to review and say who your favorite and least favorite characters are. Thanks for reading!**

_- Wynn-J_


	22. 21: Cool Secret Handshakes

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 21: Cool Secret Handshakes**

* * *

"Hey, Hailey, wait!" Hailey and Tayler stopped walking down the hallway to their homeroom to turn around and see Brian shifting his way through the crowd.

Tayler smiled while hugging her books to her chest, "Look, it's your nerd in shining flannel." Hailey shoved at her before seeing Brian trip on his feet while trying to make his way to them before the bell rung in the crowded hall ways.

"You don't think I'm a bad person, right?" Hailey asked. "I mean, this is for my career. I _have_ to play him." Tayler shrugged.

"Sounds more like you're trying to convince yourself more than me." Tayler said. "Besides, as long as no one gets hurt, you're in the clear. You just have to play him until June and by then we'll be high schoolers and Brian will be obsessing over some junior who's got big boobs."

Hailey laughed. "I love the way your mind works." Brian stopped in front of the two girls out of breath. For a while he just stood there panting and Hailey raised her eyebrow at his flushed cheeks which she told herself was only because of the running.

"I got you these." He said finally while thrusting a bouquet of flowers in Hailey's face. She grabbed them clumsily and pushed hair behind her ear.

"Uh, thanks."

"I'll talk to you later, Hay." Tayler smiled before walking away towards her class. Hailey sent her a worried glance but she ignored, leaving Hailey alone.

"So, there any chance you want to go to the movies?" Brian fumbled. "I mean, it's okay if you don't and I don't really know what you want to see and Mila said-."

"Mila?" Hailey asked confused. "What's Mila got to do with this?" Hailey absentmindedly scratched her neck.

"Well, she was giving me some advice. Like about your favorite flowers." He gestured to the bouquet. "Poppies."

"These are poppies?" Hailey asked flinging the flowers to the ground and scratching her arms and neck. "I'm allergic to poppies!" Brian's eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry!" he apologized, picking up the flowers. "I didn't know and-."

"I'm going to the nurse." Hailey muttered, scratching and walking away.

"Call me!" Brian called desperately at her back.

* * *

As soon as Brooke and Bree entered the classroom, Selena made herself visible and locked the door behind them. Bree jumped and squealed but Brooke only crossed her arms and glared.

"This better be good, Ramento." Brooke said checking her nails. "I'm on a tight schedule."

Selena snorted, "Ah, yes, so many bunnies so little time to kick them." Selena let go of her invisibility on Riley and Demetrius and the two appeared behind her, blocking the door.

"Holy shit." Brooke gasped while Bree stared wide eyed.

"We need a favor." Selena said, smiling genially, trying to take the nice approach.

"_She_ needs a favor." Demetrius said rolling his eyes. Riley shoved at him. Selena shook her head.

"Ignore him, he's in permanent PMS." Riley smiled and Demetrius scoffed. "You've been trying to take down Yolanda and Miranda, right?" Brooke lifted her chin and Bree followed.

"What's it to you?" Bree asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Miranda and Yolanda aren't normal people." Selena summarized. "Like how we," she gestured to her and the two boys behind her. "Aren't normal and how _you_ aren't normal."

"Yolanda has powers?" Brooke asked doubtfully but then she reconsidered. "Actually, that would make sense."

"Totally." Bree agreed confusedly.

"Look, Yolanda and Miranda out number you. They're others- Hailey and Tayler. Right now it's two against four."

"You mean five?" Bree asked. "You're friends with Miranda, right?" Selena paused. She thought of stealing Miranda's book and telling her about her powers and smiled at the memory of Miranda asking about alien-fighting witches.

But then she stopped smiling and said, "Not anymore." Riley still couldn't get over this new Selena. She didn't talk like how she used to and she rarely smiled. And when she did bother to say something it was always about their powers or how to bring down M.Y.T.H.

He would probably never get close enough to see her pale freckles again and that hurt him more than anything. Riley realized that Selena was still taking and tried to listen. "…We could team up, it'd be four against four. We'd even the playing field."

"What about me?" Bree whined. Brook crossed her arms.

"If Bree's out so am I."

"But Bree doesn't have powers." Selena insisted.

"She's completely useless." Demetrius added. Bree scowled.

"_Never_ underestimate the dumb blonde." Brooke said, wrapping an arm around Bree who held her head high. "Ever."

"She could be useful." Riley shrugged, saying something for the first time. "I think we could use her." Selena shrugged.

"Fine. Five against four." Selena smiled before her face turned into a frown. "But we can't meet here. This school is too open, someone could hear us. And these classrooms smell like shit."

"My house." Bree smiled, happy to help. "It's big enough and we could totally turn my basement into some cool Bat Cave." Selena cracked a smile, and Riley smiled, happy to see it.

"Cool." Selena nodded. "To the Bat Cave after school then?" Everyone nodded. Selena, Riley and Demetrius turned to leave before Brooke scoffed.

"What?" she asked. "No cool secret hand shake or anything?"

* * *

"I don't remember anything." Yolanda said incredibly from her seat in the basement of Silver Dragon. "Is that weird? I mean, I remember the hospital and coming back here and Selena saying something but then this like, switch tripped off in my brain and everything goes black."

"Maybe you hit your head on the way down." Miranda suggested before sticking her chocolate Popsicle back in her mouth. She tucked a bang behind her ear.

"No, that's not it. I'd have a head ache." Yolanda shook her head. Hailey hopped off from the table and began to aimlessly circle the room.

"Maybe Selena did some freaky air guardian magic." She said watching her feet land on the cold ground. "Maybe that's why you passed out."

"I guess." Yolanda sighed. "But I don't remember saying all that. I mean, I'm a bitch, yeah, but I'd never say _that._ And if I ever did it would most definitely not be to her face."

"How courteous of you." Tayler said dryly. "Where's Selena anyways? School ended thirty minutes ago."

"Probably avoiding me." Yolanda said, her voice muffled since she held her face in her hands. "She hates my guts. I think she's gonna poison me."

"I would applaud her for it." Miranda nodded and Tayler giggled.

"You guys aren't helping." Hailey scolded. "Selena's mad at all of us. We just need to le t her know she appreciated so she won't wig out again."

"Oh, you guys come up with this plan _now_. What happened to these words while we were on the roof?" Miranda asked. Yolanda scoffed.

"At least I _tried_!" she defended. "You were too busy crying over your stupid necklace to notice her screaming for her life!" Miranda stood from her seat and glared up at Yolanda, the two now in a screaming war.

"Oh, yeah? And where were _you_, Ms. Liberator of the Earth?" Miranda shouted back.

Yolanda screamed, "Saving you!" Miranda stepped back, looking at Yolanda differently. "You were so caught up in that _stupid_ heart that you didn't see someone coming right for you! It was either you or Selena, I had to choose!"

"Oh." Was all Miranda could say back. Yolanda rolled her eyes, trying to erase the tension in the room by being bitchy.

"Don't get too excited, you were closer so I went for you first. By the time you were safe she was falling." Yolanda crossed her arms and sat down. "But I tried, not that anyone really cares." The room was silent, Tayler, Hailey and Miranda staring at Yolanda with new eyes.

"Oh, my god." Tayler said loudly, her face full of realization. "You actually like her." Yolanda scoffed.

"Shut up, Tayler." she snapped. Nevertheless, Tayler continued.

"That would be the only reason you care about what she thinks of you. You like her but you're too much of a bitch to say anything!" Yolanda rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, well, since you're the expert on human emotions, how about you figure out where the hell she is." Hailey bit her nail as she looked around at the other girls.

"Wait," she said, taking out her nail. "We aren't…friends, right?" The girls looked at her in silence. "I mean, it's cool if we are. It's not like I care or anything-."

"Well, you are most definitely _my_ friend." Tayler smiled before walking to the red head and wrapping an arm around her. "In fact, I think we make a good team. We _all_ make a good team." Yolanda flipped her hair and smiled brightly and Miranda shifted her gaze from one girl to the next. "That includes you, Miranda. Come on, group hug." Yolanda and Miranda looked at her, their faces twisted. Tayler scoffed. "Please, you've been dying to get close to this body and you know it."

Miranda smiled reluctantly before joining Tayler and Hailey who all looked over at Yolanda who still sat in her seat.

Yolanda huffed. "Oh, fine. So I don't _hate_ you." Tayler raised an eyebrow and wiggled seductively making Yolanda chuckle. "_Fine_!" The girls hugged. "By the way, if any of you tell someone at school about this I will pretend it never happened."

"Agreed." The girls chorused.

* * *

**AN: GOOSHNICK MY FRIENDS. That, was a made up word which means thanks for reading and please review. Also, that poll is still up and my PM box is still ready for questions. Or, just review your questions and favorite character. GOOSHNICK.**


	23. 22: Out of Character (OOC)

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 22: OOC**

* * *

"What do you guys think about me joining the Raiders?" Miranda asked curiously to the lunch table which consisted of Chris and her boyfriend, Derik. She still couldn't believe that had happened. _Boyfriend._ She thought. _That's something I won't mind getting used to._

Also, Tayler and Hailey had joined their table as of the day before, stating that Hailey's friends were becoming bitches and Tayler's friends didn't mind if she switched it up a little. Around the table, forks dropped out of ands and jaws hit the table at Miranda's comment. She raised an eyebrow. "What?" Chris shrugged before going back to his food.

"Nothing, it's just that we kinda thought you said joining the Raiders." Miranda smiled.

"I did." She said tilting up her chin in happiness. "I auditioned last week. Brooke says I'd make an unbelievable addition to the team." The table stared at her, all except Hailey who glared. "What?" The table erupted. Miranda looked around at her screaming friends with a raised eyebrow. Whenever she finally got them to shut up she said. "I bet none of you guys acted like this when _Yolanda_ auditioned." The table was louder in this eruption. Miranda rolled her eyes and wrapped her hands around her necklace which she did when she was stress before dropping it, realizing that the thing was causing her more trouble than she'd like.

"There's no way you can join the Raiders." Derik shook his head. Chris found himself nodding, which was unusual in the way that he _never_ agreed with Derik.

"But whenever soccer season starts up I'll be cheering for you!" Miranda exclaimed. "I mean, seriously, wouldn't it be adorable if the soccer captain was dating the head cheerleader?" Tayler choked on her food and Hailey's eyes bugged.

"Head cheerleader?" Chris asked worriedly. Miranda shrugged.

"Well, not _head_ cheerleader, that's Bree. No way can _I_ beat _her_. But Yolanda, I can totally take her second-hand slot. I heard she's out because she missed the re-auditions. Think about it guys!" Miranda gushed. "Me as a _Raider_." The table stared at the blushing girl in silence. This was _not_ Miranda.

Suddenly, Tayler smiled. "Holy fuck!" Tayler exclaimed. "We're getting punk'd! I'll finally get to meet Ashton Kutcher! I _love_ him!"

"Tayler, shut up, I think she's serious." Hailey said looking at the grinning Miranda.

"Look, Randy, I don't think…well, I mean…it's just-." Derik tried to find the words before seeing Miranda looking at him with big, hopeful eyes. Derik smiled weakly. "You'd be hot in that Raider outfit." Miranda squealed. Tayler covered her ears.

Miranda _never_ girly-squealed.

"I take that back." Hailey said to Tayler to the side. "We're being punk'd. Let's look for Ashton." Miranda began going on and on about the Raiders and how wonderful being one would be while Hailey looked into her eyes, finding something intensely wrong there.

On the other side of the quad in the shadows Selena, Brooke and Bree watched in amazement. Selena felt the gigantic urge to cover her eyes at the sight of Miranda gushing like…not Miranda.

"Dear God." Selena mumbled before hiding behind the wall they were peeking over. She landed on the ground next to them, her back pressed against the bricks. "What'd you do to her?"

"I tried it out again this morning is all." Brooke shrugged. Selena raised an eyebrow. "Demi said we had to test how powerful we are, right? Well, this is me testing." Selena scoffed.

"What?" Bree asked sharply. "It's not like you're with them anymore." Selena shifted, suddenly uncomfortable.

"Well, yeah, I mean I'm really mad at them but now they're not even them they're _that_." She said gesturing to the table on the other side of the wall. "It seems like now they're closer than ever." She frowned. "The only thing in the way was me." Brooke frowned.

"Don't talk like that." Brooke demanded. "_You_ were too good for _them_, not the other way around. I mean, you're with us and we're getting along fine, right." Selena gave them a glance and made an awkward sound. Brooke crossed her arms.

"It's not like they'll be together for much longer." Bree summarized with a shrug. "I mean, we're splitting them apart. We just need to work faster is all." Brooke nodded helpfully.

"Right, see, Selena? All we need is a person working on the _inside_." Brooke sat so she was facing Selena. "And ever since you found out your new power you'd work twice as fast."

"What new power?" Bree asked confusedly. "I thought you used wind." Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Bree can remember nothing." Brooke informed Selena. She turned to Bree to remind her. "She can make people feel stuff, say stuff. Like how she told us she accidently did on Yolanda. Remember?" Bree shook her head. Brooke scoffed and turned back to an uncomfortable Selena. "What do you say? Think you can get MYTH from the inside?"

Selena smiled. "Totally."

On the other side of the wall, Yolanda's eyes widened at what she'd just heard before shaking her head. _Selena, you bad girl._ She thought before standing discreetly and walking away.

* * *

Hailey dangled her legs off of the table in the Silver dragon basement as she watched Tayler sitting in a bean bag chair they'd brought in, reading. She was biting her hand and her forehead was crinkled in concentration as she read over the words on the same page due to the fact Hailey was distracting her with all her staring. Finally, Tayler threw the book down and looked up at her friend.

"What is it?" Tayler asked. Hailey looked at her innocently.

"Whatdoya mean?"

"Why are you staring at me?" Tayler asked accusingly going over to the table and sitting next to her, swinging her legs. Hailey stalled before saying quietly,

"I just think it's unfair."

"What?" Tayler asked confused. Hailey looked down at her feet.

"That you can read anyone's mind but won't give anyone a hint of what's happening in yours." Tayler raised an eyebrow, her legs stopping.

"There's not much." She promised with a smile. "Just song lyrics and perverted jokes." Hailey scoffed.

"There you go again." She said. "Turning everything into a joke."

Tayler frowned. "There's nothing wrong with laughing." She defended. Hailey decided to cut the small talk. She looked into Tayler's eyes boldly and was glad her voice didn't waver when she said,

"Why did you ditch Selena in 5th grade?" Tayler's smile disappeared and that was enough to make Hailey continue. "What happened? What was your secret that night at the sleepover?" Tayler scoffed and waved her hand.

"Nothing, just some stupid-."

"It wasn't stupid if it made you act like that Tay." Hailey pointed out. "You didn't see your face. You were scared as shit." Tayler, mouth open couldn't find anything to say back. _Oh, so _now_ you're silent._ Hailey wanted to say. Tayler took a deep breath before jumping off the table. "Come on, Tay. I just wanna help. What's going on that you can't tell me about?"

Tayler turned so she wasn't facing Hailey and bit her lip while toying with her fingers, praying someone would walk down the steps and end the conversation. She literally closed her eyes in prayer.

Hailey frowned. "Tayler, I can make you tell me. Might as well fess up on your own free will." Tayler turned around at that, her eyes wide and full of something Hailey had never seen.

"You wouldn't _dare_ do that!" Tayler growled. Hailey jumped, realizing what she was seeing was anger. She'd never seen Tayler angry before and now she wished she never said anything. "I thought you were my friend! I thought you cared!"

Hailey looked at her desperately. "I am! That's why I'm asking-."

"No, if you cared you'd leave it alone! You'd just _shut up_!" Hailey jumped again before realizing. _This must be what happened with Selena. She found out about Tayler's secret and she pushed her away like she doing to me._ Tayler's expression softened. _Opps, she probably heard that._ Tayler shook her head. "Wow, I'm sorry, I completely spazzed out just now."

Hailey squinted her eyes at Tayler. Wasn't she just yelling? Wasn't she just about to tell her to fuck off like she'd done to Selena? _Maybe that's her secret- she's bipolar._ Hailey cringed again before seeing that if Tayler had heard the thought she acted as if she didn't. But then again, she was an actress. She could fake anything. _Including being okay._

Tayler smiled at her. "Sorry, that was weird. I shouldn't have yelled like that." Hailey looked at her uncertainly.

"Okay?"

"Want to see if I can get Yolanda to make some Shirley Temples on the house?" Hailey looked at her quizzaly before nodding timidly. "Cool, be right back!" Tayler jogged back up the steps and entered the busy restaurant. She turned to close the door behind her before falling against it and breathing deeply.

Hailey watched Tayler leave. _Well, that was a total bust._

* * *

Selena was in the back room looking around for her book when Yolanda decided to confront her. The book had to have something on these _Guardians of Legend_ because Selena was going crazy with curiosity. She had no idea what she did to Yolanda that day after the hospital. She was just so angry that she couldn't handle it and had to give it off to someone else. She didn't mean to send it right at Yolanda but apparently Yolanda had used her little anger fest to get some things off her chest.

Yolanda opened the door and Selena immediately noticed, turning around from one of the shelves. _Act normal_. Both girls told themselves.

"Hey, have you seen the book?" Selena asked "I thought I left it here the other night but it's not here." Yolanda shrugged, crossing her arms.

"Maybe it's with Demi." Selena paused before shaking it off and looking to Yolanda questionably.

"Who's Demi?" she asked stupidly. Yolanda wished she knew but she was only trying to appear to know everything that way she could actually know.

"You tell me." Yolanda countered back. Selena looked at her for a second before laughing with no humor and turning back around to look for the book.

"Whatever." She said going through the stack of junk on a desk. Yolanda stepped closer.

"I know what you're doing. You, Brooke, Bree, Demi, that spy-."

"You don't know anything." Selena scoffed. "You just think I'll spill 'cause I'm intimidated by you or something but I won't." Selena turned back around and gave Yolanda a hard glare.

"I don't think that." Yolanda defended, flipping her brown curls. "I just think that if you don't come clean then I'll tell-."

"Who?" Selena laughed. "Miranda? Hay Lin? My mom? What are they gonna do? Read me the right act?" Selena stepped closer to Yolanda, glad to see they were the same height and that she wasn't Miranda's size. Selena lifted her hand and a chair flew out and hit Yolanda behind her legs causing her to sit down. Selena towered over her. "So, you figure out your new powers yet? Tayler's got that whole portal sense thing and Miranda's practically stroking that necklace more each day and I've found mine but your just earth, aren't you?"

Yolanda looked up at Selena amazed. Selena was too different to even contemplate. Her face was set in a hard glare and Yolanda could feel the stored up energy from her getting ready to explode.

"You're trying to spy on us." Yolanda tried again to make Selena falter. "How could you? We're your friends." Selena laughed but it wasn't a happy one. Not at all.

"You think we're friends or something? I don't even _like_ you; you don't like me." Selena stated. Yolanda wanted to shake her head. She had liked Selena before she turned into whatever crazy person she was now.

"Look, I don't know what's going on with you but if you don't stop freaking out I'm telling everyone about your insanity." Yolanda said, eyes wide. Then Selena smiled, sickly sweet and Yolanda shrunk in her chair.

"You aren't telling anyone what I'm doing." Selena smiled brightly, almost looking like her normal self. For a second, Yolanda almost thought Selena had come back and expected her to apologize for acting so weird but whenever Selena stared speaking again, she stopped cold. Stopped looking, stopped breathing. Because just as the words rolled off Selena's tongue, Yolanda began to remember. "'Wanna know why? Because you're weak. You can't stand up for yourself, you can't fight, you can't do anything!'" Yolanda's eyes widened as Selena started screaming. "You're useless!"

"Selena, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it-." Selena could feel what she had felt that night after the hospital. All the anger just welled up inside that she couldn't stand it. It was like she was a volatile ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Stacked up glasses in the cabinets started breaking and a wind picked up in the room and Yolanda wanted to scream.

"You're so much of a coward that you don't even deserve what suckish powers you have!" Papers flew off the desk and circled around them and the room became a mess. "You think you can just be a bitch to anyone don't you? You think it doesn't matter who you hurt as long as you get your way!"

"Selena, stop!"

"I can't!" Selena said honestly as the wind picked up, like a mini tornado inside the room. The mirror on the side of the room cracked loudly, shards of glass flying, and then the wind stopped, dropping all the papers and books on the ground with a thud. Selena looked around the messy room and covered her face with her hands, falling into a sitting position on the ground.

Yolanda looked around the messy room and let her eyes rest on Selena sitting on the ground. _Is she crying?_ Yolanda asked herself, guilt churning so much in her stomach that she felt the need to throw up. _It's not my guilt._ She realized before going over to Selena. _It's hers._

Yolanda went to put her arm on Selena's back. "Don't touch me." Selena sobbed, tossing Yolanda hand off her. She wiped furiously at her eyes and nose before standing and giving the room a terrified glance. "Tell Hay Lin I'll be back to clean it up." Selena promised. "I just gotta go somewhere, sorry." Selena hurriedly left the back room leaving Yolanda staring after her.

Tayler emerged after her seconds later, seeing Selena cry and reading her thoughts. _Where's Riley?_ Was all she could pick up and she looked into the crappy room.

"I'm guessing you're not in the mood to make some Shirley Temples."

* * *

**AN: Well, didn't think I'd get to this part yet but the story writes itself some chapters.**

**ANYWAYS, Selena's not the only one with bad mood swings. My teachers are assigning the weirdest homework assignments **_**ever**_**. But I think I have enough time to answer some questions. **

**One asked a lot was how old the girls were. The oldest are Yolanda and Tayler at 14 and Miranda, Selena, and Hailey at 13, Yolanda being the oldest and Hailey the youngest but they're only really separated by a couple months.**

**Also, The Legend is something the girls are just staring to learn about so when they find out, you'll find out.**

**Another, Selena's not evil, just insanely crazy. Joking! We learn about Selena's big deal in later chapters.**

**Also, Brooke, Bree, Selena, Riley, and Demetrius don't really have a name like MYTHS, but I'd be happy for any suggestions if someone wants to give them a name as I can already see the hilariously weird and crazy names I'm getting in my head just thinking about it would be extremely wrong.**

**Also, sorry for making it unclear, the topic Hailey's little sister. Her mother is still in the hospital until Hailey can figure out how to completely reverse what she did earlier in the story.**

**And, lastly, Selena and Riley are…weird. They do like eatchother, yes, but them actually becoming something will be learned in future chapters.**

**THANK YOU for reading my rant and story. Don't forget to answer the poll on my profile! Tell me who your favorite MYTHS pairing is.**

**GOOSHNICK**

_- Wynn-J_


	24. 23: A Devil and an Angel

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 23: A Devil and an Angel**

* * *

Selena was going to go crazy. Or maybe she'd already gone crazy and that was why she was doing everything that she was. The weird mood swing on Yolanda had been just as much of a shock to her and it was to Yolanda and Selena knew as soon as she fled the Silver Dragon that she wouldn't be seeing Riley until school the next day. But she still needed someone.

Brooke and Bre weren't at "The Bat Cave" as Bre had dubbed it and that only left Brooke's house which Selena found and rang the doorbell to one…or ten times.

"You're not going crazy." Brooke promised while pulling the straightener through Bre's hair. Bre nodded in agreement before getting burned and wincing. "Stop moving." Brooke scolded her before continuing her hair work.

"Really?" Selena asked from Brooke's bed which she had made into her own personal freak out chamber by hiding under the covers. "So you've had a dysfunctional power outage out of a fit of rage on your arch-enemy too, then?" Brooke faltered for a second and Bre raised a blonde eyebrow.

"No…" they both muttered, sending each other quizzical glances in the mirror in front of them. "But," Brooke said hopefully. "At least that means you're learning more about your powers. I mean, seriously, MYTH is going to crash and burn sooner or later."

Bree agreed, "With or without our help." Selena groaned under the comforter and Bree huffed. "Can we stop complaining about your powers? I would _love_ to have powers since it seems I'm the only one without them. I mean, how is that fair?" Brooke laughed.

"And if you had powers, what exactly would you do first?" Bree crossed her arms and pouted at her reflection.

"We'll, first I'd get a decent straightener." Selena smiled from her cave. "No, scratch that. I'd make my hair silky straight, _naturally_. I'd be completely perfect."

Selena rolled her eyes before remembering the two couldn't see her. "You do realize you're the most popular girls in school and that you could wear a potato sack on your head and it would become the next trend."

"I will try that." Bre said seriously. Brooke put the straightener down on the dresser and smiled.

"Done! You're perfect." She marveled before her tone turned hard. "Don't ruin it." Bre scoffed before turning around and smirking at the lump under the covers that was Selena. Without a second thought, Bre launched herself at the bed, tackling the girl.

Selena poked her head from under the covers to glare but couldn't bring herself to as Brooke burst into a fit of giggles.

"So." Bre said seductively, wriggling her eyebrows. "You and Riley have a smooch fest yet?" Selena blushed furiously before groaning and lying back on the bed.

"Oh, please!" Brooke said accusingly, sitting on the bed with them. "As if you don't ever think about him leaning to give you a hug, felling his giant _muscles_ and looking into those deep green eyes with those little flecks of brown and gold in the middle and running your hand through his light brown curls and oh my god, those _lips_!" Brooke pretended to pass out on the bed. "They look like the softest things in the world and I've slept on 100% Egyptian cotton!" Selena was hiding her face with her hands to try and erase the blushing.

"He's so beautiful!" Bree sighed. "If you don't want him, feel free to let us know." Brooke gave Bre a glare which was contradicted by her smile. Bre blushed. "Okay, so, I kinda have a thing for Demi-."

"You mean Demetrius, the sulking bag of turd that just follows Riley's footsteps while trying to aggravate him?" Selena asked doubtfully. Bre giggled and flopped down on the bed. "How Bella Swan of you." Brooke chuckled.

"At least he doesn't look constipated all the time, just condescending." Brooke sighed, joining the other girls in laying positions. Selena wondered if this was how it was to have friends. To talk and giggle about guys.

She would have never been able to do this with Yolanda, or the sophisticated Hailey, or the idea of Tayler's looming presence.

"But he's so beautiful!" Bre insisted. "It's like he's made out of stone or something. The serious eyes and midnight black hair…"

"The PMS and annoying comments…" Brooke mused. Selena laughed. Bre glared.

"Next time, just focus on his looks instead of what comes out of his mouth. It helps." Brooke clapped.

"A word from the wise sage also known as Breanna." Breanna sat up off the bed and stood in front of the two before bowing graciously.

"Thank you, thank you!" she called, flipping her blonde locks. "I would like to thank the academy, my good friend Brooke, my confidant Selena..."

"She has no idea what the word 'confidant' means." Brooke mumbled to Selena who hid her smile with her hands. Bre continued, not noticing.

"And I would like to _not_ thank Ms. Caliser who gave me an F in third grade ELA,"

"Which she rightfully deserved." Brooke shrugged. Bre sent her a glare that told her to shut up.

"Eliza, that girl who stole my boyfriend when I was ten."

"She didn't even like him!" Brooke whispered. Selena giggled.

"And lastly, Yolanda, the bitch who only believed in pushing me around." Bre huffed. "And, apparently, replaced me with some Mock Trial nerd." Selena almost felt the need to stick up for Hailey before remembering Hailey never stood up for her. And Hailey was a nerd and in Mock Trial, so there was nothing to defend her from anyways.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Brooke asked Selena who at first thought she was addressing her thoughts. After pulling herself out of the fogginess that was her brain, Selena answered.

"They seemed to have bonded during a makeover." Selena informed. Brooke was about to regard this information as useless whenever her blue eyes took on a vibrant tint. Selena sat up and looked at her alertly. "No!"

"Why not?" Brooke asked innocently. Bre looked back and forth between the two girls on the bed confusedly.

"What did I miss?" Bre asked. The two continued as if she had not spoken.

"Because I like my face and I don't think I should have to change just so people will like me." Selena argued. Brooke shook her head and placed her manicured hands on her hips.

"We aren't doing it to make people like you; we're doing it to let Yolanda know she's not the only one who can make an underdog noticed."

"No, we aren't doing it at all." Selena said determinedly. Bre's hazel eyes clouded with confusion.

"What are we not doing?"

"A makeover." Brooke said standing and racing to the door to lock it. Selena edged farther onto the bed. "Bre, you get the straightener, I'll hold her down."

"Dear God," Selena sighed, "I'm getting attacked by blondes."

* * *

"She's lying to me." Hailey said, following Miranda behind the counter of Silver Dragon. Miranda rolled her eyes as she continued to pace back to the basement door and hop down the steps.

"Everyone lies, Hailey." Miranda shrugged.

"Yeah, but she's hurting and she lying about hurting and I wanna make her feel better again." Hailey said crossing her arms. "Why is that such a bad thing?" Miranda huffed, eyes growing in annoyance as Hailey's stalking. She looked on the shelves and floor, searching for the book Selena had found that faithful day under her cookie jar.

_What would have happened if she never found that?_ Miranda thought wonderingly, picking up boxes and searching through them. _If she never found that we would've never became friends. I have to find it. _"Miranda, you're ignoring me." Hailey growled. Miranda rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm following instructions. We're supposed to be looking for the book." Miranda pointed out. Hailey threw her hand at her.

"Book, shmook, I need help with how to deal with Tayler." Miranda gave an aggravated sigh and turned to Hailey, dropping her arms at her side.

"Why are you coming to me with this? It's not like I've been exceptionally close to Tayler. Selena's your girl for that." Selena and Tayler had been friends way before any of this started. The two had been friends since early childhood before Tayler seemingly 'ditched' her in the fifth grade for no reason.

Hailey scoffed, "Yes, because Selena and all of us are on great speaking terms." Miranda looked to the floor, the usual guilt coming over her. "It's just that since you were close to Selena I thought-."

"That I'd know the whole back story or something? No, Selena never gave me details." Miranda crossed her arms and scratched at her head even though she wasn't itching, just trying to find a use for her hands. "Just that they were close and Tayler dropped her."

"Yeah, but that doesn't make sense." Hailey persisted. "Since when is _Tayler_ of all people known for giving a person the boot."

"Maybe she made new friends." Miranda shrugged. "You know, drama freaks."

Hailey shook her head. "No, something happened. Something big; both of them are lying." Miranda huffed.

"Look, Hay, I don't have time for this. We're supposed to be finding the book." Hailey made a loud noise of frustration.

"That goddamned book is not the freakin' _bible_ so I wish we'd stop treating it like one. All is does is tell us stuff we either already know or _should_ know and it's none nothing but split us apart. I'm glad we can't find the damned thing."

Miranda said nothing, only turned back to the box and started looking through. "They're hiding something." Hailey said solemnly. "Something big enough that it scares _Tayler_. That's gotta be big. They're hiding something _huge_."

"I know." was all Miranda said back before angrily tossing aside the box and opening another. Hailey knew there was a slim chance of the book ever being there. She also knew that the book had been left in the restaurant and had disappeared before Silver Dragon opened so of course one of them took it. _Both_ of them knew that.

Nevertheless, Hailey walked beside Miranda and helped her sort through a box, surprised to see the girl was holding back tears.

* * *

"We should at least have some sort of common goal." Demi sighed from his seat in the Bat Cave, or basically, the unused and highly expensive looking room under the Rencha household.

"We do." Brooke said simply. "We're beating MYTH."

"Is that literally all we're working for?" Demi asked disappointed. "Just going after a group of ignorant kids."

"You're only one year older." Brooke protested with a roll of her eyes. "Not as if you're more experienced in the ways of life."

"Where's Selena?" Riley asked, trying not to sound overly curious. Only he, Demi and Brooke were in the Cave, Bre and Selena missing.

"Bre's trying to convince her out of her headband." Brooke had absently. She opened her mouth to move on with her topic of 'having a goal' but Riley interrupted her before the words could even come out.

"Why?" he asked. "I think the head band's cool." Brooke sent Riley a disappointed and condescending look.

"The headband is used by Selena to help her hide, as unreasonable as that sounds due to the fact the thing is huge, neon and more noticeable than Vegas. Anyways, she uses it to hide and Selena shouldn't be hidden. She should be embraced." Riley watched and Brooke turned her attention back to Demi silently. "Well, what are _your_ goals, Mr. I'm All-Knowing?"

Demi said nothing, only giving Riley a small glace. Whenever Riley opened his mouth to tell Brooke, Demi sighed out of annoyance and spoke over him. "We're trying to find these two girls."

"Who?" Brooke asked.

"No one knows." Riley shrugged. "Not what they look like or they're names. They're two girls from the legend."

"What legend?" Brooke asked. Demi sent Riley a pleading look. _Stop giving them are secrets, dip-shit._ Demi wanted to scream. Here he was, sent to make sure the prince didn't do anything stupid and here Riley was- being _stupid_.

"It's a legend that foretells what seems to be an apocalypse of everything." Riley summed. "The worlds, both yours and mine, will be controlled by a heartless vixen that will arise soon from an unknown dimension unless stopped by the 100th generation of guardians of the veil."

"Wow." Brooke said dully. "Sounds intense." Demi, of course, took her sarcastic response as an insult to his kind and began the usual 'Meridian is grand; Praise the kind; I'm an ass-kisser' thing.

"Our worlds will be ran to the ground by some hack unless those girls, who can't even fight without _running away_, fight and stop them! And so far, only _one_ seems to have the will and strength to do this and she's using it to go _against_ the others! We're all doomed!" Brooke eyes widened.

"Calm down, crazy." She spat before looking at riley kindly. "What do the two girls have to do with it?"

"Legend states that the vixen needs two females who have great power to complete her task of ruling our worlds." Riley stated. "We're trying to find them and kill them."

"Woah, woah, woah, _what_?" Brooke asked alarmed. "Two innocent girls-."

"They aren't 'innocent'!" Demi stated. "They're partakers in the destruction of the universe. We have to kill them to survive. It's either those two or all of us." Brooke watched him now with rapt attention.

"But you don't even know who they are?" Brooke stuttered. "There could be a million girls out there with powers."

"No, we've got it down to a pin point location." Riley shrugged as if talk of murdering two unaware girls was completely normal. "The guardians are picked by Kandrakar to be in supervision of all the most powerful beings, meaning that the guardian of the veil watch over the two girls, whether on purpose or unintentionally. The girls are here; in Heatherfield."

"But how are you supposed to find them?" Brooke persisted. She had powers. The guardians were close to her. Sure, the only one who even remotely cared for her was Selena but she was still powerful and in Heatherfield. Were they after her?

Riley was about to tell her when demi interrupted. "That's our business." He stated. "This little group is temporary."

"And so what?" Brooke spat. "What's our goal? To help _you_?"

"It would be a start." Demi shrugged. Brooke looked between him and Riley. A devil and an angel.

Both with _really_ hot bodies.

"Fine then." Brooke shrugged. _They wanna kill me._ She thought. _I'm helping the people who wanna kill me._

* * *

**AN: I am very angry at myself for not uploading sooner. I would've had this written out earlier but I had a lot of school work and forms to fill out. On the plus side- guess which one of your favorite writers got into a Creative Writing Art school? ME! I know, I know, what is the school board on?**

**But who cares, I'm in.**

**So happy that I might even update twice in one day. :D.**

**Thanks for reading my…readers, I guess.**

**And don't forget to message or review any suggestions on what to name the new… anti-MYTHS I guess I should call them.**

**Fill free to make them as crazy or stupidly inappropriate as you want.**

**Also, it seems this story might be longer than I first intended…hmm…**

**BYE**

_- Wynn-J_


	25. 24: Got Anger?

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 24: Got Anger?**

* * *

_Sorry for the sporadic updates. They will come faster now. Thanks. _

* * *

Once the guards were let out of the meeting that day, Demi cornered Riley instead of how it went the other day whenever they realized they'd be working together. Well, not corner, exactly. Demetrius would never corner royalty. More like, block with respect.

"What do you want, Black?" from Riley's tone and bored look, Demi could tell that the prince, in all honesty, sincerely didn't care. Which made him want to talk more.

"This is getting out of hand." Demi said obviously as he and riley made their way into the main entrance of the Meridian palace. "We're working against our kind and with the enemies. Not to mention two senseless blondes." Demi shuddered. "One of them being a little too hand-sy if you ask me."

Riley laughed. "Aw, Bre's got a crush on you, huh?" Demi gave Riley a disgusted look that confirmed things. Riley laughed harder. "She's stupider than I thought." Demi took no offense at the jab.

"I really don't believe you're in any position to call someone stupid." Demi grumbled. "I'm supposed to be looking out for you to make sure you follow the procedures, respect the rules, and-."

"Color inside the lines?" Riley joked while walking to one of the large staircases in the palace. "Look, the guards are falling apart as it is. With the legend and the rebellion, working with Selena and the girls might save this entire kingdom. I'm looking out for us."

"Is that the twisted way you put it inside your head so you won't feel guilty?" Riley scoffed as they went up the stairs to one of the private rooms that they used to open portals to Earth.

"Guilt? I've been feeling guilty every damned day of my life."

"How's that?"

"You ask as if you care." Riley snorted as they got off the landed and neared the room.

"Unlike you I actually do give a shit as to what happens to my life years from now." Demetrius deadpanned. Riley turned to him and lifted an eyebrow. "What can I say? I don't like the idea of death."

"I assume not many do." Riley sighed with a smile, entering the room and going through cabinets to look for the fine powder used to create portals. "It's mostly my dad. I know he wants my brother to be king, not me. And I know I don't exactly act like it but…I want to be important…I guess." Demi looked at him blankly and Riley took this as a chance to continue. "I want to be king but I don't want to be my father. Arrogant, rude, basically a jerk with a thousand wounds on his face that make him impossible to look at." Riley shivered. "I want to rule like how I know my mom would've wanted me to. Like how the first rebellion was supposed to work out. But now…everything's ruined."

"Not ruined." Demi said, standing tall. He truly was Riley's opposite. So orderly, organized and determined to make his kingdom look good even in the areas where it clearly was below ranking. "We're just…working on it."

"That's a nice way of putting it." Riley laughed bitterly before having to think about seeing Selena again. His heart pulled, eager, before remembering she wasn't her anymore, not really. She rarely smiled and when she did it wasn't over something that she should've smiled about.

He wished he could talk to her again, like how he used to. He remembered the way she looked that one day in the library, the day he was close enough to examine all her small, barely invisible, freckles. How she'd laughed and shrugged him away.

"_Stop staring at me, Riley."_ She'd laughed with a sigh. He missed her so much it was like a hole had been cut out of him that he desperately needed back. And when he stepped through the door The Bat Cave and saw her speaking with Brooke and Bre, he almost forgot she'd changed.

But whenever she looked at him and only acknowledged him with a short nod and not a bright smile, he knew it would be a long time before he'd get that girl back.

If he ever got her back.

"Riley!" Selena yelled. "Aren't you listening?" Riley shook the thoughts out of his head and looked into her crystal blue eyes, lost in them and forgetting to answer. Selena huffed angrily and stormed away. "He's too out of it; Demi can do it."

Demetrius shook his head vigorously. "No, Demi cannot do it." He countered. "And since when am I known as Demi?"

Breanna shrugged, tying her blonde hair back into a pony tail. "Since I wanted to call you that." She smiled flirtatiously. Demi shuddered.

"What are we talking about?" Riley asked

"I want to be trained how to fight like you guys since I don't have any powers." Bre stated, hoping off the table she was sitting on to defiantly place her hands on her hips. "It seems unfair and wrong. I should at least know how to defend myself, shouldn't I?"

Demi scoffed. "You don't have the body of a soldier."

Bre raised an eyebrow at him before flexing her arms brilliantly. "I'm a Raider- no muscles, no uniform."

Brooke shrugged from her spot next to Selena. "She's got a point. All Raiders have to go through physicals and all. Cheerleading is just as much a sport as football or soccer or archery." Demi rolled his eyes.

"Cheerleading is an excuse for girl to go bouncing around in a short skirt in front of boys without being named a grade A slut."

Brooke glared. "Just like how PMS is supposed to be only reserved to women. Seriously, Demi, lighten up. Even the stick in your ass is feeling restrained." Riley laughed openly and Demi glared, only making Riley laugh harder.

His laughter died when he saw the angry glare on Selena's face.

"There's no time for joking around today." Selena barked. "We have to train, work together. That's the only way we'll make it through all this. Right?"

"Right." They all agreed, some more enthusiastic than others. Brooke crossed her arms and looked down at her toes knowing she probably wouldn't be making it through anything.

* * *

The idea was stupid.

_Who am I to think that I can form a group to go against the guardians?_ Selena thought tiredly. She trudged down to her house and passed Yolanda's without baring it a second look.

She should just go back and see if MYTH would accept her. This whole thing was stupid, right? She was just some stupid little air guardian.

She slogged into the old slum known as her house surprised to hear the sound of laughter whenever she opened the door. She closed it silently and crept into the dining room so find the source of the noise.

It was Chris. Or, more appropriately, it was Chris and her mother. Selena sneered. _How wonderful. Family back together again after years of separation._ "Hey mom." Selena smiled broadly, walking into the room and causing a silence to fall upon her brother and mother. "_Bro_," she said sickly sweet. "What's going on?"

"Where have you been?" Irma asked accusingly. "School ended two hours ago."

"I was out with friends." Selena shrugged. Irma stalled, her mouth open but no noise coming out. Selena smiled. "I know, right? Me, friends? I thought it was impossible too."

"Selena, you wanna sit with us?" Chris asked delicately, as if the slightest word or movement would set Selena off. She didn't like being spoken to that way. Like she could be broken so easily, that then there would be something wrong with her that no one would be able to fix. Selena frowned.

"Why are you even in my house?" she snapped. Chris watched her, wide-eyed. Selena turned to her mother. "And what? Did you know all along? Was this your plan or something? To have us meet up after all these years?"

"No!" Irma shook her head. "I didn't even know he was alive, Selena! I-."

"So now you're just letting him show back up in our lives again?" Selena asked unbelievably. "What's next? Is dad gonna show up with chocolates and a ring saying you're getting back together?" Irma and Chris glanced at eatchother before looking down at their hands. Selena huffed. "Oh, what is it now?" When they said nothing Selena felt herself already starting to give way to the angry part that seemed to be overcoming the real her more and more each day.

"What?" she screamed. "What is it now? You're not allowed to do this! You can't keep all these secrets from me and expect me to be cool with it! It's _my_ life! I have a right to do whatever the hell I want! If I wanna scream I'll scream, or fight then I'll fight!" A light wind came from nowhere and lightly ruffled Selena's hair as she screamed at her family who sat at the table watching her calmly. Chris was looking at her expressionless while her mother looked sad, like she wanted to burst into tears and wrap her arms around her daughter in hope of being her lifeline. "Everything was fine until you showed up! You ruined everything! Get the hell out of my house." The locks on the front door unlocked and the door forcefully swung open.

Irma struggled to keep control. "Selena, calm down!"

"No, I'll do any goddamned thing I want to." She said before turning back to Chris. "I said get out my house, Chris!" Chris stood and gave his mother an unreadable look before staring at Selena as he made his way out the door.

It slammed shut after him and the anger freed Selena to let her feel her own emotions. Selena stared after Chris warily before turning around and walking back to her room.

* * *

Hailey locked the bathroom stall just as the door to the restroom opened and feet shuffled in. The restrooms in Sheffield were relatively clean except for the marks of vandalism that lined the stall doors. Hailey traced one of the patterns with her fingers idly before a girls voice said, "Make sure no one's in the stalls."

Hailey quickly unlocked her stall and moved open the door a crack. She carefully crawled on top of the toilet and a trail of blonde hair whipped past the crack in the door before the voice continued. "All clear."

"No one's here." Hailey almost felt the need to stand up and state her being. Only an idiot would be able to miss the fact that the first stall was occupied. _Idiot…Bre?_ Hailey did feel a pang of guilt that the girls name was the first guess when it came to that word but it was natural instinct. Not to mention the blonde hair and the voices did sound similar.

_And where there's Bre there's Brooke._

"I think I should try the mind control again on Miranda." Brooke stated, twirling a wisp of hair on her finger. "I mean, we need to practice and I've already started on her. Not to mention she's fun to mess with."

Hailey recalled Brooke having powers and thought about Miranda's recent character traits before realizing the scheme of things. Miranda was turning into a brainless Raider and Brooke was behind it, doing it as _practice._

_Practice for what?_ The question made Hailey's spine tingle slightly. Only a handful of words were able to be exchanged between Brooke and Bre before Hailey stepped out of her stall and glared at Brooke.

"What are you up to?" she asked. "And cut the crap. You know what I am ad I know what you are."

"Do you?" Brooke asked with a raised eyebrow even though her insides were screaming. Brooke had no idea what she was, or what she was capable of. How did she get these powers? And she only knew what Hailey was because Selena had clued her in. Was she the one with earth or fire? _Fire, her hair's totally red enough._ Brooke thought.

"You're messing with Miranda's head. You need to stop." Hailey declared. Bre chuckled and Brooke stepped up to Hailey, getting in her face.

"And what are you gonna do about that, nerd?" Brooke asked disgustedly. "You think because now that you look different, you'll get more attention or something? That people will like you or something?" Hailey tried to keep her head up. This wasn't about her. It was about Miranda.

"Miranda's done nothing to you." Hailey pointed out, giving Brooke a level gaze. Brooke shrugged.

"She hurt a friend of mine." Brooke summarized, Bre nodded in agreement. "What are you gonna do about it?" Hailey tried to appear solid.

"I'm stronger." Hailey said, mostly trying to convince herself. "I've had training." Brooke laughed before opening her palm. The ground under Hailey shifted and she fell to the ground. Brooke lifted her hand and Hailey was suspended into the air, foot first as if someone was holding her up by her ankle.

"You think I just walk around without training? I'm not stupid." Brooke assured before forcing her hand out and making Hailey slam into the wall.

Hailey let out a silent scream as he back painfully hit an arch in the tiles on the wall. Brooke ignored her pain, only walked over to her suspended body, crouched down so their eyes were level and growled. "Let this be a message. Mess with Selena or Bre, you deal with me. Got it?"

Hailey stayed quiet and Brooke held up her hand threateningly.

"Okay, okay! Won't talk to Selena, promise!" Brooke smiled and dropped her hand and Hailey crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Good. I think that went well, Bre." She said walking out the door. Bre followed merrily.

"Totally."

* * *

**AN: Took longer than it should have but no worries. Long weekend plus bored Wynn-J equals more chapters. Also, it seems this book will have approx. 35 chapters which means our journey is only chapters away from an end! No worries, all you must do is review and answer my poll to open the possibilities again. So, is Brooke a bitch for hurting Hailey or Selena's first real friend by trying to protect her? Tell me what you think!**


	26. 25: Earth's Heart

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 25: Earth's Heart**

* * *

Hay Lin eagerly flipped through pages of the old and worn book greedily. Ever since she'd found it that day, where Selena had left it, and took it, she couldn't get enough. She was in the middle of reading about things even she didn't know about when she was a guardian when Chris came through the door in a rush.

"Hay Lin, I really think that Selena should- is that the book?" Hay Lin slammed the thing closed and stood from her chair trying to act nonchalant.

"Well, if 'the' book you're referring to is the encyclopedia of guardians of the veil then yes this would be said book." She nodded. Chris looked at her stupidly.

"You do know the girls have been tearing up and down for that thing for weeks, right?" he asked "They thought Selena stole and burned it or something." Hay Lin scoffed.

"Oh, now why would she do that? She's a sweet girl." Chris raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't bad mouth your sister. What are you in her for anyways?"

"Well, I was waiting around at my mom's place waiting for Selena whenever she stormed through the door and kicked me out." Chris said defeated. He took a chair opposite of Hay Lin and ran a hand through his deep brown hair. "I want to talk to her, you know? Try to convince her that everything's fine but she keeps pushing me away. She's so different."

"Hay Lin rolled her eyes. "And why would that be?" she asked him accusingly. Chris looked up at her, eye wide.

"Well, it's not _my_ fault." Hay Lin raised an eyebrow and Chris sat back defeated. "Not completely."

"It's not her's either. Look at this." Hay Lin opened the book and spread it out on the table so Chris could read it too. "The girls and the legend they're apart of is bigger than anything and way too big for Selena to handle. All the girls have been given extra powers to add on to the elements. Selena can force or remove emotions, she practically feeds on them."

"So?" Chris asked, scrutinizing the page closely.

"She has all those emotions bottled up inside her and she hasn't trained that power yet, only her air powers can be wielded safely. No wonder she's been exploding so often, she's a firecracker until she learns how to deal with it. Otherwise she'll go mad."

"I believe she's already there." Chris rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair, looking down at the book.

"Not that kind of mad. Mad as is mad as a hatter." Selena said flipping through the book. "All those emotions are going to swarm her unless she controls them. She'll be like bipolar mania or something." Selena ripped through more pages and Chris considered leaving noting how Hay Lin seemed to busy going through every page of that damned book.

_Every page…wait._ Chris snapped his glance back up to Hay Lin. "Hay Lin, have you read that entire book."

Hay Lin shrugged, still reading. "I've been skimming; I've only had the time to actually read it until now."

"But haven't you run into one of the black pages yet?" Chris asked. Hay Lin looked up confused.

"No, all of the pages are here. Why?" Chris got up and walked over to Hay Lin and snatched the book out of her hands. He flipped through the entire book five times.

All of the pages were there.

"The girls said that some pages were locked and would only be showed in time or with the heart. How come you can read it without using wither of those?"

Hay Lin shrugged, reaching back for the book. "I don't know." she grabbed the book back. "And something's aren't even adding up. Like this book says the guardians of legend have a bracelet, not a necklace. And it also says that the heart used with the bracelet isn't Kandrakar. It's some type of combination of melted and cooled hearts put together."

"Miranda never mentioned anything thing about the legend being in the book." Chris stated.

"But it is." Hay Lin shrugged. "The whole thing's in here. Sure I haven't actually read it yet but-."

"_You've had the legend this whole time and you never told anyone?!_"

"I'm not supposed to!" Hay Lin yelled back and then snapped. "And don't yell at me!" Hay Lin put the book down on the table. "It says here clearly '_The guardians of legend are not to know of the technicalities nor ending of the legend or else the results will vary.'_ See? I read that part!"

"Results will vary?" Chris asked ridiculously. "This isn't some list of cooking directions. Who the hell wrote this?"

"Wouldn't I like to know?" Hay Lin asked in awe before sticking her nose back in the book, Chris now reading over her shoulder.

* * *

"Remember, my mom wants you and your family over at my place for Thanksgiving. It's going to suck but at least we know there'll be cookies." Miranda said into the phone in the basement of the Silver Dragon.

"How could I forget?" Derik asked incredibly even though Miranda knew he was probably writing it down right now so he wouldn't forget again. "You sure you want us all over there? My family's pretty big."

"Oh, my mother thrives on big families. She comes from one but they won't be able to make it." Miranda said, swinging her small legs in the chair. Around her, the girls were doing small warm ups. Tayler was repeatedly lighting her hand on fire, Yolanda was picking up objects without touching them and Hailey was making giant water bubbles in the air. Just the usual.

"What about your dad?" Derik asked sensitively. Miranda cringed but was all together happy that he cared enough to bring it up or that they were close enough to talk about it.

"He's coming in from California. He was doing this big endorsement thing over there but he says he'll be home in time. It's been a while since I last saw him." _A while. Please, try a year._ Miranda thought to herself.

"Well, that's good. I hope he can't chew me out in front of my parents."

"Oh, he'd _love_ to do that." Miranda smiled.

"I bet he would." The couple hung up and Miranda stood, shaking her limbs and stretching. She was about to say something whenever she noticed something was wrong- the room was silent. No one was chatting on and on about boys or homework or the new movie coming out. The silence was unnerving.

Finally, Hailey said, "I talked to Brooke today." Now a whole new wave of silence fell upon the girls as they all turned to Hailey who turned around and lifted up her shirt revealing a large bruise covering her back. "Or should I say I got my ass beaten by Brooke today? That girl is crazy."

Yolanda gasped, "She did _that_ to you?"

Tayler fumed. "That bitch is about to get lit up like a Christmas tree."

Hailey pulled down her shirt and turned back to face the girls. "It doesn't hurt that much, it's just a sting now but it was bitch earlier."

"Why'd you even come to practice with a bruise like that, Hay?" Miranda asked concerned, walking over to the girl and leading her to the chair. She guided her gently, afraid of hitting the bruise before Hailey settled in the chair.

"Well, it's better than going home where my dad's just gonna have me do a million chores and then go check on mom and the baby in the hospital. I can't even stand to look at her anymore, not when I know I'm the cause for it." Hailey hid her face with her hands.

Tayler looked around curiously. "Am I the only one who wants payback? I mean, I know where the whore lives and it'll take less than five seconds to barbeque it."

"Tayler!" Yolanda scolded before joining Miranda and Hailey at the table. Tayler followed her reluctantly. Miranda placed a hand delicately on Hailey's back and patted softly. Hailey showed no sign of pain so Miranda didn't stop.

"It's not your fault, Hay." Miranda reminded. "You had no idea how much power you had."

"But I need to fix it." Hailey sobbed.

"You will, _we_ will." Yolanda stated. "But, first we need-." Hailey jumped in her seat and jumped into the air. "Uh…you okay?"

"No one else felt that?" Hailey asked fidgeting. "That tingly feeling?" Tayler nodded sympathetically.

"It's okay. I get that way when it's a shirtless Jacob scene from Twilight." Hailey glared at her friend before shaking her head and pulling back up her top in front of one of the long mirrors that were kept in the basement.

Her pale and freckled back reflected back to her and she gasped. "The bruise is gone." The other three girls shoved and moved to the mirror and looked at her back in wonder.

"How the hell…" Tayler asked amazed.

"I don't know." Hailey shook her head. "When Miranda touched me I got this weird feeling-."

"Um, Hay-."

"Shut up, Tayler." Hailey glared before continuing. "Miranda, I think you healed me." Miranda looked at her hand and at Hailey's back smiling.

"Guess I found my new power."

* * *

Riley rolled his shoulders before taking a deep breath. This was it. He was finally going to stand up to his dad, and his brother. His talk with Demi made him realize how screwed up everything was. If he didn't fix it, no one would and Meridian would be ran into the ground.

He placed a hand on the handle to the slightly opened room before hearing the voices of his father and brother, Finn, carry through.

"Riley's becoming too attached. He's on Earth for a remarkable amount of time that I find it slightly repulsive. Not to mention the elders say he spend most of this time with the air guardian." It was his father. What was so wrong with him spending time with Selena? He was supposed to be spying, right?

"He's setting himself up for a world of hurt, I know that." Riley's brother voice said. "Maybe he should know. It's not like he'll tell anyone." Riley gawked from behind the door at the sound of his brother defensing him. His brother, who usually aimed glares at him from across the room whenever they were together.

"No, he'll try to protect her or tell her what we are planning. He cannot know we need her." Selena? Why the hell would they want Selena?

It all came together in his head, the pieces falling together like some sick puzzle. The two girls they needed that were to be killed so the vixen that was to destroy their worlds wouldn't be able to complete her task.

They were going to kill her.

"Maybe we're reading into this too much. Maybe he doesn't actually like her." Riley heard his father's loud cackle at his brother idea.

"No, you didn't see the mirror. The way he looks at her…" The disappointment in his voice made Riley scowl. As if he should be frowned upon for liking a girl. She was just a crush. "He cannot know our real plan on what we wish to do with the two girls." The real plan.

So they weren't killing them? Then what?

Riley stepped away from the door, not knowing if he could hear more, only knowing that they're were worse things than death.

* * *

"Black," the king called. Demetrius stood from where he sat in the room, sending one last glance at the slightly open doorway where he knew Riley had just stepped away. "Are you sure about Riley? Are you sure he cannot be trusted?"

Demetrius looked down at his shoes. "I tried to tell him. I tried to convince him that the whole idea of helping her fight her own team was a stupid idea, he would listen."

"The boy is stubborn as an ass." The king spat, the scars on his face causing twisting into an even uglier pattern. The king's son glared.

"Where do you think he gets it from?" Finn asked raising an eyebrow.

"Do not talk back to me." His father glared. "Black," Demi looked up at the king before looking back down at his feet, trying to scrape the image of the scars off his mind.

"Your majesty?"

"You will take on a new position. Watch Riley and the guardian. Try to get her close to the castle and find the second, the original heir to the Meridian throne, and we will be able to capture them together."

"Yes, your majesty." Demi bowed and turned, quickly walking out of the door and running down the hall way, desperately searching for Riley.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I feel fine." Miranda insisted from where she sat in the booth at a closed Silver Dragon. Tayler, Yolanda and Hailey sat across from her, staring at her intensely.

"Of course you do." Yolanda scoffed. "You're not supposed to _know_ you're hypnotized."

Tayler nodded in agreement. "Ruins the illusion."

"So what?" Miranda asked "I want to be a Raider. That's not a bad thing."

"That is correct but it also is not _you_." Hailey countered. "I heard it with my own ears, they're messing with you. Using you as practice. But if they can trick you into it then I can trick you out." Hailey promised looking deeply into Miranda's eyes.

Miranda shifted in her chair nervously, not breaking eye contact until there was a harsh tug in her mind and she bit the inside of her cheek to hold in the scream. She let out a groan and Hailey looked away just as the pain subsided. "How do you feel?"

"Like someone tried to murder me with a hammer." Miranda answered honestly. And then she remembered walking out of the gym the day after Derik and Chris had basketball try outs and the red glow that came from Brooke's eyes. Miranda scowled. "That bitch used her powers on me!"

Hay Lin walked into the front just in time to hear this comment and raise an eyebrow.

"Um, what?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing." Tayler assured. "Just coming up with reasons on why to blow up Brook Gardner. May I suggest again a barbeque?" Tayler asked helpfully, raising her hand in a small wave before having her fingers catch fire.

"I'm down with that." Miranda growled. Hay Lin dropped the book on the table. Miranda's eyes widened and she looked up at Hay Lin accusingly but the woman only raised her hands in surrender.

"I didn't know you were all on a book hunt." He apologized. "But I think I know where Brooke's getting her powers from."

"Where?" Yolanda asked. "Is she from Meridian?"

"No, I bet she's just a reincarnate of the devil." Miranda muttered.

"Or she's a psychic." Hailey suggested.

"Not exactly." Hay Lin informed. "She's the heart of Earth." The girls were silent, staring at each other before Tayler said what they were all thinking.

"What the hell is that?"

* * *

**AN: Thanks for reading!**


	27. 26: A Kiss Goodbye

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 26: A Kiss Goodbye**

* * *

It had been so long since Miranda had looked into the book. In reality it was only a few weeks but it felt like more, it felt like months. She was flipping through pages with Chris shuffling beside her. He was fidgeting and looking from her to the book.

Miranda made a sound of anger every time she passed a blank page and Chris made mental notes in his head. Whenever a guardian went through the book, the pages turned blank. If you weren't directly a part of the legend, you could read whatever you wanted. He remembered Miranda saying something about Irma going through the book and finding all the pages blank. He still didn't have a reason for that yet.

Miranda flipped to a familiar page and her eyes went wide.

_The Five Guardians in Human Form_

The picture used to be the five of them on the beach. Miranda could almost remember every detail of it. Selena wearing the nice close and hugging Miranda who was making puffy cheeks towards the camera. Hailey and Tayler, back to back, and holding their hands like guns. And lastly, Yolanda who waved her flip flops in the air and was sticking out her tongue.

But the picture had changed.

Everyone was still in their same poses, everyone except Selena who was slightly being blurred away from the bottom up.

"Chris, look!" Miranda said pointing to the blur that was now Selena. "She's going away!" Miranda sunk back in her chair and covered her face with her hands. "God, this is all my fault."

Chris looked at the picture for a second before saying, "it has to be an old picture. Maybe the whole thing's just rubbing away. That can't be your fault." Miranda didn't reply, only cried softly into her hands.

She wished she could replay that whole day on the roof. But deep inside, Miranda knew that wasn't what slid Selena over the edge, not really. She was growing more impatient with the way she was treated every day. Miranda would have to go back to the moment they first met to completely fix everything. "Miranda," Chris tried again. "the book still says 'The _Five_ Guardians", not four."

"Probably just a typo." Miranda sobbed. Chris grabbed her wrists and tugged her hands away from her face. Miranda turned her head to the side so he wouldn't see her tears but he followed her, no wanting to let her get away so easily.

That's when he realized he was holding her hands and he was close enough to that all he had to do was lean in a little and they'd be kissing.

So he did.

* * *

It was at school the next day when Hailey snuck out of class early and waited for Selena to exit hers. She felt like some kind of top-notch detective or a delinquent but she knew it was the only way to talk to Selena without Brooke finding out.

When the bell rung it took only five seconds for students to come pouring out of classes and into the hall. Selena was exiting the doorway when Hailey pulled her to the side.

"Oh, now what do _you_ want?" Selena asked tiredly, forgetting to be angry at her for a second. "I woke up at six this morning just to escape my mom and I want to use this free period to sleep."

"Sorry." Hailey nodded. "It's just-well, I was wondering if- you know about-."

"_What_?" Selena snapped.

"Why did you and Tayler split up a couple years back? What did you find out?" Selena was woken up by the words and tried to remain nonchalant.

"Nothing, why?" Selena began to walk away, expecting Hailey to follow but Hailey stayed in the shadows, not wanting people to see her. Selena huffed and turned around. "What, are you allergic to sunlight?"

Hailey shook her head before turning her head to the side. "Hey, what happened to your headband?" Selena lifted her fingers to her head, almost forgetting she didn't have the horrid pink thing on.

"No reason." She shrugged. Brooke decided to take the makeover one step at a time. And the first step was hair accessories.

"Tayler's acting weird." Hailey said, back on topic. "She's keeping secrets and I know you know what it is." Selena sighed.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe it's none of your business?"

"Is that what Tayler told you when you found out?" Hailey countered, narrowing her eyes. Selena narrowed hers back stepping closer to Hailey who took a step back.

"Tayler and I weren't close to begin with, all right? We just drifted apart. It happens." Selena said convincingly.

"So what am I supposed to do when Tayler wants to kick me to the curb? She's scared and I won't drift away and give up on her. Through thick and thin, I'm a friend." Selena could hear the accusation in Hailey's voice and she frowned. The two stood in silence as they glared at one another.

"Tayler wears a lot of makeup." Selena said finally. Hailey looked at her wildly.

"Well, what the hell does that mean? You ditched her because of her choice in lip gloss or something?" Selena shook her head. Selena laughed but it sounded more like a sound of sorrow and Hailey could see the sadness in her blue eyes.

"Not that kind of makeup." She said, turning and walking away.

* * *

Selena stepped into the library and, forgetting that her goal was to sleep there, walked deep into the non-fiction collections and kneeled down to look through book titles lamely.

"It's been a while since we've been over here." Selena looked up to see Riley smiling down at her. He crouched down to her level and pretended to be interested in books. Selena didn't reply which Riley found infuriating. But Selena didn't say anything because she didn't know how to act around him anymore since her talk with Brooke and Bre.

Now every time she saw him she thought of Brooke talking about how strong he was or Bre saying how soft his lips looked. Selena realized she was staring at him and quickly looked down at her books. Riley frowned. "Selena, there's something I have to tell you-."

"Uh, I think I should go." Selena stood, tugging at her backpack straps. "It's study hall and I have yet to study…in this hall." She scratched her head awkwardly before mentally kicking herself. It was times like these she wished she had Yolanda's height or Tayler's jokes, Miranda's clear skin or Hailey's brains.

"You just got here though." Riley protested. He stood and looked at her with concern. "I know it has to be hard with everything going on and I get that you don't want to be treated how you were but you're starting to push people out. Push _me_ out."

"No, I'm not." Selena said, adding a smile for a good measure. "I'm just focused is all."

"Selena, you're…different."

"I know." Selena nodded happily. She needed to be different, that way no one would boss her around or tell her she was useless. "I'm adapting."

"That's not what I meant." Riley shook his head and Selena wanted to turn away after seeing all the emotion in his eyes. She wanted him to kiss her. Like, _really_ kiss her the way she knew Brooke would've been kissed. She wanted him to hold her hand and tell her she looked pretty like how she'd seen Derik do to Miranda every morning before school.

But Riley wasn't doing any of that and Selena had to think again. Maybe if she got that makeover Riley would be all over her. Or she could just face it like the new Selena would. She wasn't afraid of anything and she was strong enough to make the first move.

So with that in mind Selena filled the space between her and Riley, cupped his face in her hands and brought his lips to hers.

At first it was just…weird. Neither one of them expected it, not really, and Riley's brain shut off for a second. This wasn't his Selena, he was kissing a completely different girl. But at that moment he decided any Selena would do and he tugged her closer, his arms circling her waist.

Selena sunk her hand into his hair and smiled into his lips as Riley backed them up into a book shelf, kissing her with everything he had.

And then his brain turned back on.

What the hell was he doing? He came in to tell her about his father, that she was the one they'd wanted all along and that they were bring lied to. The guards knew who to search for but they didn't trust Riley anymore. Did they trust Demi?

Riley pulled back from Selena suddenly, panting. "I can't do this." He said, pulling his arms back from around her waist.

Selena looked at him confused. "Why not?" She went in to kiss him again but he backed away.

"Selena, this isn't you. You don't do things like this. You're angry and uptight and…I don't like this new you. Not like that."

"Well, you just _kissed_ me so obviously you do." Selena glared back. _Oh, great, here we go._ Riley thought. Her anger switch must be flipped on again.

"Selena, you're turning into a different person. And I don't like it, I liked _you_, who you were before all of this."

"I'm not a different person." Selena stated. "I'm still me."

"No, you're not." Riley shook his head and Selena scoffed.

"So what you're saying is you liked the old me. The one who you could boss around and know that it was okay because she couldn't stand up for herself."

"No, Selena, that's not what I meant-."

"Screw you, Riley." Selena huffed before grabbing her book bag off the floor. She didn't even know she'd dropped it. Selena walked out the library door and Riley sagged against a book shelf. _I'm going to hell._ He thought

* * *

"What are you doing for Thanksgiving, Hay Lin?" Hailey asked, sipping from her Shirley Temple as Yolanda wiped down the counter top. The Silver dragon was just about to close and they were getting their last rush of customers. Chris was waiting on a table, but the people sitting there had to keep repeating their orders due to the fact he was focusing his attention on Miranda who was trying to avoid looking at him.

Miranda stared down at the red drink in her hands while Hay Lin spoke. Miranda wasn't really paying attention. Something about parents and other things she didn't really care about.

"What about you and Chris?" Tayler asked Irma while Miranda cringed beside her. Tayler raised an eyebrow in her direction but said nothing.

"We agreed he could stay at our place during the break. I want Selena to get used to him and get to know him a little more."

"Is he going to be living with you guys?" Tayler asked. Miranda stared intently at her drink.

"No. Well, not yet." Irma thought. "I want him to live with us so I can talk to him. But Selena's completely against the idea and I don't want to make her uncomfortable."

"Selena's always gonna be uncomfortable." Hailey said, rolling her eyes.

"She's just going through a hard time." Hay Lin stated. "She just need her friends." Hay Lin and Irma looked at the girls determinedly and Tayler laughed.

"Who? Us? We're not her friends in case you haven't noticed."

"Yeah," Yolanda agreed. "Selena's hanging with a new clique. I wouldn't be surprised if she came to school tomorrow in a Raider uniform." Miranda cringed again. "Too soon?"

Tayler laughed and Miranda glared at her.

"Do you always have to laugh at everything?" Miranda asked sullenly.

"It's the best medicine." Tayler shrugged. Hailey looked to her, recalling Selena in the hall way. "And I'm sick a lot these days."

* * *

**AN: BLEHHH, Selena and Riley FTW. If you think they are amazing go and vote for them on my pole. Or vote from Miranda and Derik...or Chris. Hm, two sexy guys falling for the short girl...**

**Thatnks for reading! I really hoped you all liked it. _*simley face*_**


	28. 27: Bruises

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 27: Bruises**

* * *

Selena was walking outside, ready to meet up with Brooke and Bre whenever she was grabbed from behind.

Her first thought was that she was being attacked by some mutant thing that had somehow managed to get past the school without an outbreak of hysteria. Or it could've been that large snake thing from when Selena first saw Chris…Well, Selena first _remembered_ Chris was probably more correct.

But it was only Tayler, which, judging by the look on her face, was even scarier. "We had a deal!" Tayler growled after checking the stalls for occupants. "You keep my secret and I'd leave you alone."

Selena crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "I don't recall this being our deal. In fact, I think it was the opposite."

"What?" Tayler asked, her anger so loud she could even hear Selena's words. Selena glared.

"I said I'd keep your secret if you told someone."

"I did." Tayler shrugged. "I told you."

"Yeah, but that was only because I found out." Selena stared. Tayler glared back. "Look, if you don't tell someone, I will." Tayler was suddenly in Selena's face, her glare burning holes into Selena's head. Well, not actually, but it would if Selena kept poking the bruise.

"No," Tayler said. "You won't. When you left MYTHS, you left me. I'm not your problem anymore."

"Problem?" Selena scoffed unbelievably. "Tayler, you're hurt, okay? You're getting _hurt_ and-."

"And it's none of your damn business that's what." Tayler snapped. "I can take care of myself. So don't talk to Hailey and say she needs to look out for me or something."

Selena glared. "And what are you gonna do when Hailey figures out, huh? Because she will. Eventually, she'll grow a pair and poke around in your head and make you tell her."

"No." Tayler shook her head. "She wouldn't because she's actually my _friend._" Selena stared hard at Tayler before scoffing and throwing her hands up in surrender.

"You're right, she is." Selena scoffed, shouldering her book bag. "I'm certainly not." The two glared at each other.

"Yeah, you just walk away when there's a problem, don't you?"

"What can I say?" Selena shrugged, smile on her face as she turned to leave. "Learned from the best."

* * *

Selena and Brooke cut their talk short when they saw the time. Practice was over and they'd really hadn't gotten much done. Well, except for Bre and Demi, who were throwing punches at eatchother in the corner. Jealousy was coming off of Brooke in waves. She'd been trying to get a good hit a Demi ever since he insulted her fashion sense last practice and here Bre was, not only punching and kicking but being _rewarded_ for doing it.

"Practice is over." Brooke yelled, grabbing her bottle of V8 and walking around a table to grab her purse. Riley jumped off the table he was sitting on to face the group.

"Wait." He said. They all turned to him expectantly and Riley shuffled on his feet. "Selena…" Selena raised an eyebrow but said nothing, waiting for Riley to continue. When he didn't, Bre jumped to stand in front of him and took both of Selena's shoulders. Her blue eyes sparkled and she kept the smile on her face. She was a little sweaty but that would be expected after she just managed to keep her own with Demi.

"We're worried about you." Bre stated.

Selena's eyebrows came together in confusion. "What, why?"

"You've turned into a bitch, apparently." Demi shrugged "I don't know what the problem is. I didn't know the 'old you' but she sounds like a prude." Brooke glared at Demi before reaching in her purse, grabbing a brush and flinging at him across the room. He caught it, of course but it was still satisfying. She'd been waiting for a good reason for what felt like forever.

"You've all discussed this?" Selena asked. The four teens looked at each other guiltily. "Oh, fantastic. My friends think I'm a bitch."

"See, Lena, that's just it." Bre smiled. "We're you're friends. We care." Selena rolled her eyes. Riley pushed Bre to the side, seeing that she was having no positive affect.

"Selena, we know you've been through a lot. With your brother and MYTH…all that must've been hard on you so you thought you needed to toughen up to protect yourself from all that but now that you've ditched them you don't need to now. We're your friends."

"Yeah," Brooke agreed. "The only one you'll need protecting from is Demi when he's in one of his moods." Demi chucked the brush back and Brooke made it freeze in mid-air before dropping it and sticking out her tongue at him. Demi flipped her off.

"You guys, I'm fine." Selena persisted.

"No," Riley countered. "You're not. Selena, we know those girls, they were terrible to you. They lied and made fun of you but we aren't like that. We _care,_ alright? All of us."

Bre nodded vigorously, Brooke smiled and Demi shrugged.

"Well," he thought aloud. "I don't exactly _hate_ you, which is progress." Selena withheld her chuckle.

"We're not MYTH, okay?" Riley assured her. "We'd never treat you like that." He looked deep into her eyes and it almost felt as if they were the only two in the room. "_I'd_ never treat you like that."

"No lying, keeping secrets or letting you drop off a roof." Bre promised and Brooke thumped her on the back of the head for her lack of subtlety. "Ow!"

Riley ignored them. "You don't have to be anyone when you're with us. Just you." Selena sighed deeply before thinking about turning around and leaving. She could just sit in her bed and sulk like she used to do. Or drown herself in ice cream. Or stare at pictures of Taylor Laughtner on the internet. That was always a little comforting.

But hugging and laughing with Riley was _way _better.

It was their first real touching moment since the kiss and Selena tried to refrain herself from kissing him again. To hide her blush she shoved her face in the crook of his neck and he placed his chin on top of her head and smiled.

"Group hug!" Bre hollered, totally ruining the moment by jumping on top of the two. Brooke wrapped her arms around the three laughing but Demi stayed in his corner. Brooke rolled her eyes at his sulkiness but even Demi had to smile when Bre pulled away and hollered, "I think this calls for sweets!"

* * *

Sweets were good.

Getting killed by your best friend was not.

"So let me get this right." Selena said, dropping the spoon to her ice cream in the cup. She, Bre and Brooke stood in the hallway in front of Bre's bed room after practice, staring at eatchother seriously. "Riley and Demi told you about the legend that states the only way to save the world is to murder you and some other defenseless girl out there in Heatherfield?"

Brooke considered this. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Not that I want to be a jerk," Bre said, noisily slurping the ice cream into her mouth from the spoon. "But aren't you supposed to be all heroic and kill yourself for the sake of humanity?" Brooke stared at her friend blankly. "Okay, never mind."

"How are you sure they want to kill you? There could be thousands of girls with powers out there. Just look at MYTHS." Selena shrugged. Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, but you can't be one of the girls to kill…at least, I don't _think_ you can." Brooke bit her nail. "God, I don't even know why I _have_ powers! I can't just get kidnapped and killed by a bunch of lame guards."

Bre giggled. "Guards vs. Guardians. I just noticed that." Selena and Brooke glared at her and she shut up, staring down back into her ice cream.

"We don't know anything about that stupid legend and it's about _us_." Selena grumbled. "How is that fair."

Bre rolled her eyes, as if the answer was obvious. "It's like they say in psychology class. If you know about an outcome before it happens, the effect will cease to exist because you will alternate the cause. It's just a human thing." Brooke raised both eyebrows. Bre nodded smugly. "I convinced Demi to help me with my school work during practices."

"No way! He agreed to that?" Brooke gasped. Bre wiggled her eyebrows.

"I'm growing on him."

"Uh, can we get back on topic?" Selena snapped. Brooke raised an eyebrow and Selena huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm sorry. Can we _please_ get back on topic?"

Bre shook her head. "No, not really."

"And why is that?" Selena glared.

"I saw his abs!" Bre squealed.

"NO WAY!" Brooke giggled. Bre nodded.

"Yeah, he was all, 'You're over heated. It'll affect your progress.' And I was all, 'Well, you're wearing a hoodie and you seem just fine.' And he goes, 'Because I'm a trained soldier.' And I go, 'A trained soldier who'll become overheated and pass out on me during practice.' And so he took it off and through it and was all. 'Will you change out of your skiing outfit now?' It was awesome." Brooke jumped up and down while Selena raised an eyebrow.

"Why were you in your skiing outfit exactly?" she asked

"Well, I have to practice if I'm ever going to catch that penguin." Bre stated obviously. Selena scrunched up her face.

"What the hell are you…never mind. Point is, we need to find that legend, read it and make sure it's not Brooke and if it is, well protect you."

Bre shook her head. "But then you'll fuck up the outcome. The whole legend will be bocked if you read it."

"And how are we supposed to get our hands on something like that, anyways?" Selena smiled and crossed her arms.

"From a cookie jar, of course."

* * *

Hailey wished for one quick second Selena was with her. Even with all her new quips and rude mannerisms, she'd still be able to give Hailey invisibility which would most definitely come in handy when it came to following your best friend home to see what she's hiding from you.

Tayler lived in a neighborhood far away from school and Hailey briefly wondered if she was even in district lines. Hailey followed Tayler at a longer the necessary pace and Tayler was already inside her home before Hailey even entered the small community. The houses were small, or at least, smaller than Hailey was used to. With both her parents being lawyers, Hailey wasn't used to close houses and close families. But boy did she try to get one. She'd gotten good grades since she was in first grade, kissed major ass, got into the Mock Trail program and now she was even trying to seduce a nerd in order to get into a summer program.

How lame was that?

Hailey crept along the side of Tayler's house and thought seriously about what she was doing. If Tayler didn't want her to know, maybe she shouldn't. It was a bad idea to follow her in the first place and it would jeopardize their friendship if she got caught. And Tayler and Selena were right, it was none of her business.

Hailey stood from her crouching position from underneath a window and sighed. _I'm the worst friend in the world._ She thought. She sent a glance through the window anyways whenever she realized what a stupid mistake she'd just made.

_Why the _hell_ did you stand up in front of a _window_? Are you _trying_ to get caught, idiot?_

But there was no one staring at her like she was a creep through the window. Only Tayler, sitting on her messy bed room floor, propped up against her bed. She was shaking and when Hailey listened closely, she thought she herd sobbing. Tayler was crying. Badly.

A boy entered the room. He was tall and, honestly, kinda cute, and sat next to Tayler silently. Hailey watched curiously, dipping back beside the window on her knees and peering in. The boy placed his arm around her shoulders and Tayler began to shrug him off before thinking better of it and flinging her arms around him in a fierce hug, her sobs become so violent Hailey could hear them through the window.

Hailey gasped whenever she saw Tayler's face. Her brown eyes watery and focusing on something in the room, tears coming down her cheeks, and a giant bruise on her cheek.

* * *

**AN: Sorry, I meant to upload this earlier but some things came up, namely school, addictive TV shows and a hot guy at my school who flashed his abs when we were all outside. Yep, I'm still havin' dreams about that…**

**ANYWAYS, fill free to review and favorite and follow my people. This chapter was a little shorter than usual sorry, and don't forget to PM or review any questions that I will try to answer. Thanks for reading!**


	29. 28: You Serious?

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 28: You Serious?**

* * *

"So are we not going to talk about it then?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"So then you're forgetting it happened?"

"Forgetting what?"

"That I kissed you."

"Shh!" Miranda's eyes bugged as she looked around to make sure no one heard. Chris laughed at her facial expression which darkened as soon as the noise left his mouth. "Can you not go parading it around like some idiot?"

"Parading?" Chris asked, shocked. "if anyone's making it obvious that something's going on it's you. After all, you're the one who refuses to look at me whenever we're in the same room." Miranda didn't really have a comeback for that because it was true. She fidgeting with her sleeves.

"I have a boyfriend." She found in her head. She looked up at Chris, happy to have finally said something back. "And I like him. Not you Mr. Ex-Best-Friends-Brother."

"Was the 'ex' supposed to go on best friend or brother?" Chris asked before Miranda slammed her tiny fist into his chest. "I know you like Derik-."

"Then why'd you kiss me?" Miranda interrupted. "Was it so I could be staying up all night thinking about it or worrying about who I should date? Because I haven't."

"Good." Chris snapped back. "I only did it to calm you down."

Miranda scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right." Chris frowned.

"No, really. I'm into someone else."

Miranda laughed. "Who." Chris searched through names in his head before cringing.

"Yolanda?" he asked. Miranda stopped in her walk and looked up at Chris. They were walking from school to Silver dragon and Miranda had her books hugged against her chest to save her from the cold.

"Yolanda?" Miranda repeated, eyebrows raised. "You're not serious." Chris nodded confidently.

"Yolanda." Miranda looked at him for another hard second before continuing down the street. Behind her, Chris mentally punched himself in the face.

* * *

"Bre, I've got it." Demi raced after the blonde who was just exiting school. Bre turned around and took her pink bubble gum out of her mouth to throw it in the trash can before averting her attention to demi.

"Got what?" she asked, then smiled. "Oh, I know. It's Got Milk, right?" Demi stared at her confusedly. "You know, the commercials?" Demi blinked. "Okay, nevermind. You go."

"You've been looking for a way to find powers, right?" Bre's blue eyes widened and she jumped up and down.

"No way! You didn't!" Bre asked excitedly

"I didn't." Demi agreed honestly. Bre frowned and looked at her leather boots. "But I know a way we can."

"How?"

"The Meridian guards don't really have their own powers, it just comes from a heart. You know, like the Heart of Kandrakar?"

Bre smiled. "Not at all, but keep going."

"If he get our hands on the same rock the guards use we can get you powers and amplify our own." Bre smiled and bounced up and down.

"Demi, I love you!" She went in to have a hug and Demi quickly stepped back before smiling at her frown and patting her on the shoulder.

* * *

"Yolanda!" Ellie screamed at her step sisters bedroom door. "Mom wants you to have something." Yolanda whipped open the door and stared down at the little girl with narrowed eyes.

"What do you want, I'm busy."

Ellie scoffed. "Doing what? Yourself?"

Yolanda gasped. "Twerp," The door slammed in the eight-year-olds face and Ellie sighed loudly.

"Fine." She said. "I guess I'll just have to take this _important document about your birth mother_ to the garbage chute then." The door immediately opened and Yolanda's hand reached out to snatch the papers out of her little sisters hand but Ellie pulled away at the last second. "Uh-uh, I want five bucks." _Is she serious?_

"To spend on what?' Yolanda asked exasperated. "Chew toys?"

"I'm not a dog!" Yolanda's face faltered.

"Oh, then I guess I have to tell dad to put a stop to that dog house he was going to buy." Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Five bucks. Now."

"No, I earned my money myself." Yolanda said, arms crossed. "And those papers should be mine anyways."

"Well they won't be if I don't have a picture of our honest president looking up at me in green print in the next ten seconds." Yolanda groaned before going to her Tip jar and taking out a five. When she returned to the door she shoved the bill into Ellie's hand and grabbed the papers. "Thanks for doing business."

"Bitch." Yolanda growled, slamming the door.

Ellie gasped. "I'm telling mom!"

* * *

"Miranda?" Hailey asked in the basement. "You think you can help me with something?" Miranda shrugged.

"Why not." Then she reconsidered. "Wait, is it school related? Because, in case you haven't noticed, I just got out of tutoring." Hailey shook her head.

"I found a way to save my little sister." Hailey smiled, shoving the tearing book in Miranda's face. Miranda sat next to the red head and looked down at the page Hailey had opened it to. "The reason I couldn't save her so far was because she's too weak and my powers will end up killing her. But you-."

"Can make people stronger." Miranda nodded. "I got it but…are you sure you want to place the life of Hailey jr. in my hands?"

"Actually, it's Hallie." Hailey corrected. "Or Bailey, they haven't decided yet." Miranda stared and Hailey sighed. "Okay, so I'm not exactly thrilled to have done all this and I don't like the fact that this could be putting her in more danger but we have to try, right? She can only get better."

Miranda's eyes widened. "Yeah, or _die_. Hay, I can't control; this new power yet. I'm not even completely sure what it does."

"It manipulates an objects energy." Hailey stated as if it were obvious. "You can make someone stronger or weaker or sicker or-" Hailey pointed to the book. "Healthy. You can do this. I did, remember?" Miranda bit her lip. "Don't forget, I can make you."

"Oh, fine."

* * *

The next day at school, Selena walked out of the emptying school and waited around for her friends. The routine was simple. Everyday they'd meet at the school statue out front and then walk Bre's place. Selena breathed into her hands to stop the coldness and rubbed her arms.

The next step in Brooke's great makeup plan was exactly that- make up. Selena felt the overwhelming need to rush into a bathroom and wipe all the gunk off but stopped herself repeatedly.

The school was empty in ten minutes and there was still no sign of Demi, Riley, Brooke or Bre.

_Did they leave without me?_ Selena asked herself before thinking better of it. They were friends and friends didn't leave you out in the cold with a whole bunch of stuff on your face.

Hitching up her back pack, Selena walked around to the back of the school, figuring they'd probably walked out a different way. She had just turned the corner when Selena stopped and rolled her eyes. "If you call that spying, you really suck at it."

Selena turned to Hailey who was four steps behind her, arms crossed and blue eyes glowing with determination. "I don't know what it is with you and Tayler but can't you _please_ just leave me alone. Even Miranda's backed off."

Hailey scoffed. "Miranda's your friend. Why I'll never know but she still cares about you. Even when you're a bitch. _That's_ friendship, not whatever Brooke's got you doing."

Selena rolled her eyes. "Oh, the usual. Planning world domination and all that."

"Funny." Hailey said dryly. Selena glared at the girl in front of her.

"Let me guess. You want to know something about Tayler or are you just pissing me off for your own enjoyment now?" Hailey ignored the comment, and her blue eyes became brighter.

"Tell me-." Selena quickly closed her eyes and shoved her fingers in her ears. Hailey scrunched her nose. "What the hell are you doing?"

"_Trying not to become some nerd's puppet_." Selena yelled in the quiet. "_Don't use your powers on me_!"

"_Why are you yelling_?" Hailey yelled back. Selena took her fingers out of her ears and scowled. "I wasn't going to use my-."

"What the hell are you doing?" Brooke asked with a smile as she rounded the corner of the school. "Everybody's looking for- why are you talking to _her_."

Hailey rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Like it's any of your business." Brooke stepped up closer and the rest of their group emerged from behind the corner. Hailey's eyes grew larger and she backed up slowly before bumping into the wall behind her.

Brooke laughed. "Aw, she's scared!"

"I call first hit." Bre dubbed. "I've been practicing."

"Guys, shut up." Selena rolled her eyes but the rest of them kept pressing, only Riley standing back as the rest of them plowed forward, circling Hailey.

"Selena, you should fly her up to the flap pole and hang her by her bra." Bre giggled.

"Why hang when you could drop?" Demi asked boredly

"Yeah, give her a taste of her own medicine." Brooke growled, eyes going red.

"Guys, _stop_," Selena commanded. "Now. We should just leave."

"Yeah, we have practice." Riley agreed.

"Nope." Brooke shook her head and pushed Hailey to the ground. "This is more fun."

* * *

"We should make our own theme song." Tayler mused as she, Miranda and Yolanda walked down the street. Miranda smiled but Yolanda immediately went against it.

"And play it when? After we get our asses beat to boost our self-confidence?" Tayler snorted.

"Well, _you_ can get your ass beat but fire trumps earth any day." Yolanda frowned at her friend and stepped in front of her to walk backwards.

"Says who?"

"Why don't you ask every forest fire that's occurred within the last week?" Tayler smiled. Yolanda rolled her eyes but said nothing. "Exactly! Fire guardian for the win!"

"Please, as if you wouldn't get your butt handed to you if Hailey drowned you in her smarts." Yolanda snorted, turning back around and walking in between them.

"Where is Hailey anyways?"

_Hailey? Come out wherever you are!_ Tayler joked. Yolanda shoved her.

_Help!_ Hailey's voice squeaked into their heads.

* * *

Selena rubbed her head suprisingly as Brooke leaned over Hailey. "Uh, guys...They're coming."

"Who's coming?" Demi asked curiously. A gush of wind blew so strong it knocked Selena off her feet and she landed on her butt on the cold cement. She barely got out her out before Tayler landed her right hook in Brooke's face.

Brooke landed on the ground with a thud and rubbed her cheek, glaring up at Tayler who was helping Hailey off the ground.

It was only seconds later when Yolanda and Miranda appeared. Yolanda waved at Bre.

"Long time no see, huh?" she asked as vines grew off nearby trees and wrapped themselves around Bre's waist, tugging her into the air. Bre hung suspended in the air, upside down and she called down to Brooke.

"See?" she screamed. "This is why I need powers." Brooke ignored her friend and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, a steel baseball bat was in her hands and she stood before swinging at Tayler who squeaked before ducking to the ground.

Miranda looked at Demi who stood calmly beside her. She raised an eyebrow at him, her black bangs blowing in the cold wind. Demi smiled back, holding out a hand.

"Name's Demetrius. Nice to meet you." Miranda took his hand and pumped it, sending shocks through his body. Demi fell to the ground and Miranda smiled down at him.

"Miranda." She introduced. "Pleasure's mine." Demi smiled up at her again before pushing out his hand and making Miranda fall back and land on the walk way beside him.

Tayler stood and grabbed the bat on Brooke's tenth swing and the two started tugging at it.

"Let go!" Brooke screamed. Tayler tugged one last time before following orders and Brooke fell back and landed on her butt.

"Seriously, Selena?" Tayler accused. "You got Riley in all this, too?"

Selena growled. "Don't turn this on me! Maybe if you just fessed up Hailey wouldn't feel the need to stalk me every two seconds!"

"Serious?" Yolanda scoffed. "We're fighting because of some stupid secret?" Tayler looked down at her feet and Miranda and Demi got off the ground. Brooke stayed where she was, watching Hailey trying to become unnoticed. No one answered Yolanda's question and Bre was the first one to break the silence.

"Can someone help me down?" She asked, struggling against the thick vines. "I think all the blood's rushing to my head."


	30. 29: New Power

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 29: New Power**

* * *

"Miranda, I could kiss you!" Hailey said, her arms wrapped in a vice grip around the short girl as they entered a closed Silver Dragon. Miranda peeled the girl off, and made her way to a booth in the corner of the restaurant.

"No thanks, I've had enough of that." Miranda shivered. Fall in New York was proving to suck. Miranda had lived in cold places before -Washington, Europe, Maine- but had never been there around Thanksgiving time.

Hailey scooted into the other side of the booth and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Oh, you and Derik, huh?"

Miranda paused, then nodded vigorously. It was just a spur of the moment thing. She had no feelings for Chris, that she was sure of. At least, she was 75% sure of. She'd wanted Derik since she first saw him- even if he was a jerk. Chris was just some guy with Selena on the outside of a cage. Sure he'd come to save her life but…Okay, there was no way to end that the right way.

She was with Derik. And she wanted to be. "Hey, Randy? Whoo-hoo!" Hailey waved her hand in front of Miranda's stoic face. "We just saved an unborn baby! And not just any baby- _my_ baby! Oh, wow, that sounded wrong. I meant-."

"I got what you meant." Miranda said with a faint smile. Hailey's red eyebrows came together in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Hailey asked. Miranda wasn't going to keep it a secret. There was enough and she'd seen where that had gotten them. Confused, upset and without the final element. Miranda sighed and leaned back in the booth, blowing her bangs up and showing her bright green eyes.

"Chris kissed me."

"No way." Hailey gasped

"And I think I liked it."

"No way!" Hailey's eyes widened.

"And I haven't told Derik."

"No _flippin'_ way!" Hailey squealed. Miranda raised an eyebrow.

"You've been spending way too much time with Tayler. I think you're losing brain cells."

* * *

"And where exactly have you been, Little Miss Secret Keeper?" Yolanda called to Tayler as she ran to catch up with her when she saw her across the street. Tayler huffed but said nothing as Yolanda joined her side and began walking in the same pace as her. "You haven't been coming to practice."

"I'm busy." Tayler shrugged. Her head was down and her black hair hid her face.

"Would you like to tell me what's more important that saving the world?" Yolanda asked tauntingly. Tayler shrugged again. Yolanda frowned and stood in front of Tayler. "What's wrong?" Tayler shrugged again and tried to side step Yolanda who just blocked her way again.

"Can I walk in peace?" Tayler asked, slightly annoyed. Yolanda said nothing, only watched and Tayler crossed her arms and still shielded her face with her hair.

"Look at me." Yolanda commanded.

"What?" Tayler asked confusedly.

"Look. At. Me." Yolanda glared. Tayler lifted her head and looked Yolanda in the eye. Yolanda sighed "Move the hair." Tayler pushed the hair behind her ear, revealing the small bruise on her cheek. Yolanda cringed.

"It's nothing. I was just going to get make up to cover it up." Tayler said, stepping around Yolanda and resuming her walk down the street. Yolanda caught up with her again. "You now I can easily out run you, right?"

"What happened?" Yolanda asked. Tayler rolled her eyes because she knew that Yolanda knew already.

Still, Tayler looked up at her friend and smiled. "Uh, I ran into a pole?" Yolanda grabbed Tayler's arm and pulled her to a stop.

"You think this is funny?"

"No, I think it's none of your business." Tayler looked away from Yolanda and mumbled, "Not that you or anyone else cares."

"Was it that guy?" Yolanda asked. Tayler turned to Yolanda again, eyebrows raised.

"What guy?"

"You know," Yolanda shrugged. "The guy who came into your room and comforted you. You know, after-."

"Are you _spying_ on me now?" Tayler yelled. "Good God, what _is_ it with you guys? Can't you just leave it alone?" Down the street people looked at the two girls and Yolanda subconsciously placed her brown hair behind her ear.

"It wasn't me." Yolanda muttered.

"Hailey." Tayler nodded. "Of _course_ it'd be her."

Yolanda snapped, "Hey, at least she cares about you. You sure don't. You're letting some guy hit you-."

"Some guy?" Tayler asked. "God, not only do you guys spy but you get the wrong information. That 'guy' was my brother, Jay. And he doesn't hit me." Tayler turned and walked away again but Yolanda kept up. Tayler could've just ran but she was too tired to try.

"Then where'd you get the bruise?"

"I wrestle alligators in my free time."

"Will you _shut up_!" Yolanda screamed. "Why won't you let us help you? Do you _like_ getting hurt?"

"I don't need your help." Tayler stated. "I can handle this myself." Yolanda gestured to the bruise on her face.

"Obviously." She said sarcastically. "Okay, fine."

"You'll leave me alone?" Tayler asked hopefully.

"No, I'll tell." Tayler stopped walking and faced Yolanda with a glare.

"You can't-."

"No, I can." Yolanda smiled. "You may have gotten Selena to shut up but not me. In case you haven't noticed I've got a big mouth."

"And what are you gonna say?" Tayler asked doubtfully. "I could say you're lying."

"But you won't." Yolanda crossed her arms.

"And how would you be so sure?" Tayler asked with a scoff. Yolanda rocked on her heels.

"I got my new power." And then she walked away, leaving Tayler glaring after her in the cold.

Finding nothing left to say, Tayler threw out a, "Bitch." And walked into the makeup store down the street.

* * *

"I say we need a name." Bre said distractedly. "We should call ourselves Purple."

"Why Purple?" Brooke asked as the group gather next to the portal Riley opened only seconds ago.

"It's a pretty color." Bre shrugged. "And it's better than Demi's idea."

"I liked my idea." Demi smiled. "It was bold."

"And inappropriate." Brooke said, eyes narrowed.

"My mom would kill me if she even figured out I knew what that word means." Bre agreed with the nod of her blonde head. Selena rubbed her arms for heat in the cold.

"How is it that even when we leave Earth it's still as cold as Heatherfield? Shouldn't we be on the other side of the Sun or something?" Selena huffed before bringing her hands to her mouth and breathing on them.

"Or this is a different Sun." Riley suggested while closing the portal. "Okay, we've only got a couple minutes before my dad figures out we're not on Earth."

"Is time even counted the same here?" Brooke asked as they made their way toward the giant hole on the red ground in front of them. "So, do we all have to go down there or can we just push Demi since this was his idea in the first place?" Demi looked at Brooke with large eyes and Bre laughed.

"We should all go down. You know, do this together?" Selena proposed. "I mean, it's our heart, our powers. We should do this as a team."

"Oh, we could call ourselves team!" Bre squealed. Demi smiled and shook his head and Brooke fanned the idea away with her hand.

"Just ignore, it'll go away." Brooke instructed.

"What will?" Bre asked curiously

"The stupidity." Riley dropped himself down the hole. "Hopefully."

* * *

"So, how do we do this?" Selena asked. There was a giant wall before them underneath the crust of whatever planet they were on. Bre was basically shaking with excitement. _I'm gonna have powers!_ Her mind sang over and over again. The wall was made out of a green crystal-like rock and it reflected their faces in a dim green light. It wasn't cut smooth, there were jagged pieces knocked out where it seemed like other people had come to cut of their own heart.

_How many have been here before us?_ Selena asked. It couldn't be a regular thing, to want powers from some rock.

"Maybe we just take a piece." Riley shrugged, reaching forward. As soon as he touched the rock wall his reflection pulled back and frowned at him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Riley's reflection instructed. Riley jumped back startled and the rest of them watched Riley's reflection with big eyes. But it wasn't Riley- or rather his reflection- that spoke next, but Brooke's. The blonde in the reflection placed her arms neatly at her side and spoke clearly. "I go by the name of Almodine and this wall belongs to me. Were you intending to steal it?"

The group looked to Brooke who said nothing. At a last attempt, they shoved Selena forward and Selena's reflection looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

"No." Selena shook her head vigorously. "We were hoping to…borrow it."

"Borrow?" Her reflection asked curiously, as if it had never heard the word.

"Borrow?" Bre screeched. "I don't want _borrowed_-." Brooke shoved her hand over her friends mouth and smiled at Selena's reflection.

"Ignore her." Brooke advised. The reflection looked away, bored.

"You want to borrow my stone?" She asked Selena. Selena pulled back a strand of her light brown hair and placed it behind her ear, awkwardly shifting in her place.

"We need it." Selena mumbled. "Not _all_ of it, really just a small piece." Selena's reflection looked back at her with an eyebrow raised, amazingly condescending.

"All who come looking steal from me and take away portions of my wall yet you children don't. Why?"

"Can we please just have the damn rock?" Demi asked impatiently. Selena's reflection glared at him, annoyed.

"It is my stone, my decision." She scolded. "If not for your way I might've let you have it. You are the first to take me into consideration and I show my thanks. But now, there must be a limit."

"Great going, Black." Riley muttered in his direction. Demi shrugged lazily.

"What time is it in your land? When do you find a proper release to give me it back?" Selena's reflection was only talking to her now, not finding justice in talking to the others. Selena thought.

"It's almost a new year there." She suggested. "Can we return it then?" Selena's reflection looked at her curiously, wondering to trust her.

Finally she spoke, "Then and only then will you return my power. If you are late I shall take it back myself. The second your new year starts. If I do not have it back in time or must strip it away before time is due you can never borrow anything from me again. Am I clear?"

"Crystal." Selena said, this time her reflection saying the words with her. Selena and her reflection reached out to the wall separating them without Selena's consent. When Selena was able to wrench her hand back there was a green stone that shined brightly and had so much power it blew her hair back. Selena's eyes widened and Riley smiled beside her, watching the rock in amazement.

* * *

Brooke walked through the locker room the next day, her hips swaying with happiness as she skipped. When she passes by to see no one there, she turned around and called to Bre who immerged from the wall next to her, a smile on her face.

"I wanna do it again." Bre said, ready to step back into the wall. Brooke grabbed her arm and pulled her back, looking her directly in her blue eyes.

"We don't have time." Brooke chided. "Now that you have powers and ours have intensified we might have just enough to beat them."

"Beat who?" Bre asked.

"MYTH, you dumb-butt!" Brooke growled before face-palming herself. "I swear, you never pay attention." Brooke shook, therefore clearing, her head and focused in on the blonde before her. "They nearly beat us the other day. In fact, they would've beaten us if they wanted to, deeply enough. We need to fight back, even the playing field."

Bre sighed exasperatedly. "Isn't it already even enough? Five of us and four of them already gives up the advantage. Not to mention we have a heart now."

"No, they're still stronger." Brooke insisted. "It's not fair, we have a right to make it even." Bre looked at Brooke questionably.

"Does Selena know about this?" Now that Selena wasn't gung ho with ruining MYTH, Bre thought maybe they would give it a rest. That they'd just be their own clique with their own powers.

Brooke shrugged. "What Lena doesn't know won't hurt her. Come on, I've got a plan." Brooke stalked off, towards the outside of the locker room and Bre stomped her feet childishly before following after.

* * *

Miranda tried, that's what she would say if Yolanda ever found out she was still on the cheerleading team. She tried to get out of it but she couldn't. The couch would cut out her heart and feed it to her if Miranda even _suggested_ quitting which meant she had to stay on the team, at least until the semester was over at the end of December.

December seemed so long away though. Thanksgiving was coming up soon, they even got off for it a whole week in a couple of days. She wondered if that was where it would all end, December. Where she wouldn't have to wear the sluty uniform or listen to Brooke and Bre scream orders at her. December couldn't come close enough.

At the end of practice, the girls flooded into the locker room, ready to change and head home. Miranda trudged to her locker and numbly turned the combination, opening up to her gym bag. She was so close to home and she knew as soon as she hit those bed sheets and that soft pillow, she'd be out for the rest of the week.

But when Miranda opened up her gym bag she woke right up. Inside was her shirt and torn jean pants. Some lotion and perfume, deodorant, just about everything needed.

But no matter how many times Miranda tossed everything out and put it back in, no matter how many times she zipped the bag back closed and opened it, no matter how many times she ruffled through the small bag, the outcome was the same.

Her necklace was gone.

* * *

**AN: I APOLOGIXE IMMENSILY. Didn't mean to take such a long break. WOW, I only have five more chapters left for this story. And it feels like I only started last week. LOOK HOW MY BABY'S GROWN and yadda yadda yada, you get the jist. Kinda sad but be prepared for answered questions! YAHOO, I'm already so excited I could just hurl as much as Aubrey did in Pitch Perfect.**

**Until then, LATER MEH READERS and Gooshnick.**


	31. 30: Don't Go Breaking My Heart

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 30: Don't Go Breaking My Heart**

* * *

Miranda looked at her friends with wide eyes in the silence of the closed resturant. Hay Lin was gone, out with Chris and Irma making different practice stratigies. The practices had gotten more intense, as if they weren't just practices anymore but training sessions. But they had nothing to train for, not to their knowledge.

Her three friends blinked. None saying a word. And then, all at once, they were screaming.

"YOU LOST THE HEART?"

"What do you mean it's missing?!"

"Why did you have it off in the first place?" Miranda cringed at their accusations and tried to explain.

"It wasn't me. At least, I don't think it was." Miranda dragged. "Coah makes me take it off during practices so I don't get hurt when they lift me in the air."

"Says the girl who can _fly_!" Tayler screeched.

Hailey sighed, trying to look at both sides. "To her defense, they don't know that."

"Why are you still cheerleading?" Yolanda asked, arms crossed. "We figured out Brooke's little scheme. She was tricking you; you weren't really into it."

"I know but coach won't let me quit. Not until after New Years." Miranda sulked. Tayler sat down with a huff.

"What? Is New Years where out timeline stops? I mean, end of year, end of semester, end of cheerleading, end of _us_."

"There's not gonna be and 'end of us.'" Yolanda stated obviously. "We just have to get the heart back. Maybe Hay Lin-"

"We can't tell Hay Lin." Hailey shook her head vigorously. Tayler and Miranda nodded in agreement and Yolanda slowly began to understand why. Hay Lin had been acting weird, well, weirder than usual. At first MYTH thought it was just a phase type of thing but they knew something was up when they came into the resturant one day to see her arms clean and fresh, not one trace of ink along her skin. "We can't tell anyone."

"Then how are we going to find it?" Yolanda said back in the quiet. A new silence settled over the four girls. "We should find it before we have to go back to school next week." Yolanda suggested. They were all out on Fall Break and Thanksgivving was only two days away. Miranda couldn't help but feel a squeeze of happiness. Her father was going to be home in two days and Derik and his family were going to come over. It would be the perfect break from school.

You know, if she hadn't lost probably the most valuable thing in the universe.

"Maybe someone took it." Tayler said absently. The girls eyes widened and they looked at Tayler in awe, amazed they hadn't even thought of the idea of stealing.

"You're right." Hailey pointed out. "I mean, it is pretty. Any girl in the locker rooms could've taken it. Miranda!" Hailey yelled loudly and Miranda jumped as Hailey's gaze was set on her. Hailey was back in her nerd-mock-trail mode. "When did you lose the necklace?"

Miranda thought. "I had it before practice. When I came back to change it was gone."

"Who knows your combination?" Hailey asked.

Miranda shrugged. "To my knowledge, only me."

"They could've broken in to it." Tayler said. "It could've been anyone."

"Who was absent from practice?" Hailey asked persistently.

"Well, no one I think. Everyone was there." Miranda said, thinking back, and then her eyes widened. "Brooke and Bre went off to go to the bathroom."

"Those _bitches_." Yolanda huffed. "I swear, we need to kill them, not only for us but as a duty to our society."

"How are we supposed to get it back?" Tayler asked unbelievably. "I don't expect them to just hand it over. I mean, they took it for a reason, right."

"Knowing Brooke," Yolanda dragged. "That reason was just to piss us the fuck off."

"And she succeded." Miranda groaned, slamming her head on the table. "This is my fault."

"I hope you don't expect me to deny that." Yolanda said dryly. Miranda lifted her head and glared. Yolanda ignored her. "The way I see it, the only way to get what's ours back is to fight for it."

"A fight?" Hailey asked. "I'm a nerd; I can't fight which has been proven more than once."

"Yeah," Miranda agreed. "Tayler's the only one who'll stick up for herself."

Yolanda scoffed. Tayler glared.

She kept her look of hatred on Yolanda the whole time she talked. "So we don't fight, not if we don't have to. But if we have to we do it. We've beaten them once, we can do it again."

"Yeah, but last time we had a heart." Hailey pointed out.

Tayler rolled her eyes. "So? We've still got powers; they don't. Well at least, Riley, Bre and that guy don't."

"His name's Demetrius." Miranda informed. Yolanda perked up.

"Oh, was that the hot guy with the black hair!?" They all looked to her. She raised her hands in defense. "What? What's an enemy if there's no sexual tenstion and flirting?"

"You're an idiot." Miranda rolled her eyes.

* * *

Selena hadn't been to the old hospital since she first decided to join with Riley and Demi so being there again, two days before Thanksgivving felt a little weird. She didn't know why MYTH wanted to meet them and she honestly didn't care. They had bigger, better powers now so MYTH didn't even pose a threat.

Well, until Brooke bursted, "I stole their heart." The rest of the group turned to her with wide eyes.

"You _what_?" Selena asked, errily calm as she walked up to Brooke.

"I wanted to even the playing field?" Brooke suggested. Riley sighed ezasperated and demi turned to bre.

"You have anything to do with this?" he asked. Bre looked up and whistled absently while he rolled his eyes.

"I thought we were over trying to tear them down." Riley said, running a hand through his brown hair. "Now we're just pissing them off for no reason."

Brooke shrugged. "Doesn't make it any less fun." Selena made a noise of fustration and knotted her fingers through her own curly, light brown hair. She took a deep breath and when she opened her blue eyes, they were seterminely set on Brooke.

"We have to give it back." Selena stated. Brooke looked at Selena for a moement before nodding and mummbling an okay. _Well, that was easy._

Selena turned to the direction she heard thoughts coming from and knew MYTH was upset. They were probably thinking of ways to skin them and hang them from trees. Selena sighed and walked forward to meet them, her group behind her.

"I think you know why we're here." Miranda stated, trying to look imposing. Selena scoffed and crossed her arms.

"You're a little too small for the threatening look. You should try Tayler." Tayler stepped forward and pushed Miranda aside, getting in Selena's face.

"Fine, she will." Tayler said, smug. "The heart. Now."

"Since when do we do what you want?" Brooke asked, eyebrow raised. Tayler ignored her and looked at Selena pointedly.

"The heart, air girl." Tayler demanded. Selena stared. She wanted to give the heart back but now she wanted to throw it at their faces. Everytime she tried to look back to their side of things they had to go and be that annoying, smug, and aggravating group of girls that could go fuck themselves for all Selena cared. Tayler narrowed her eyes at Selena's silence. Selena forgot she could read her mind. "What? You forget what it's like to have some real friends?"

"_Real_?" Selenasaid, offended. "The only real thing you guys are is real annoying. And aggravating. Maybe if you just shut up and asked nicely we would've caved."

Tayler rolled her eyes. "Because you five are known for your nice qualities, right?" Tayler asked. _Shut up, Tayler, you're ruining our chance!_ Yolanda thought. Selena smiled.

"You should listen to Yolanda." Selena nodded. "Though I know shutting up is a hard thing for you." The argument was turning into a Tayler vs. Selena instead of a MYTH vs. We-Don't-Have-A-Name-Yet. Noticing this, Brooke stepped forward.

"Um, guys?" She said. "You can just have it back it's fi-."

"No." Tayler cut her off, still glaring at Selena. "You guys shouldn't have taken it in the first place. It was never yours to begin with."

Selena scowled. "So what if we stole it. It was in _my_ house with _my_ book. Therefore my property. If anyone's stealing it's you." Bre stepped forward.

"Guys it's just a neck-."

"Shut up!" Tayler commanded, flinging a hand at Bre. A fire circled around the small blonde and she squeaked before jumping out towards Demi. Tayler and Selena continued bickering and Bre narrowed her eyes on the tall black girl. She had powers now. She shouldn't be pushed around anymore. Bre reached out her own hand, not really knowing what she was trying to do until Tayler flew back and landed on the grond, hitting her head. Tayler groaned and sat up, glaring at bre. "How the _hell_…"

"You want the stupid necklace back?" Brooke asked, dangling the jewlry from her hand. "Fight for it." MYTH immediatley went to rush at Brooke but were blocked, leaving Brooke behind a line of her friends.

Miranda stopped when Selena blocked her angle. Miranda didn't really know what to do. In her eyes, Selena was still a friend. A bad friend, yes, but still a friend giong through trouble. Yolanda was easily distracted when Demi blocked her. She smiled and batted her brown eye lashes.

"So," she said flirtatiously. "Got a girlfriend?" Demi smiled charmingly and Bre scoffed from beside him, letting her guard down from blocking hailey who ran inside the wall the other had made protecting Brooke.

When Brooke saw Hailey coming for her she paniced and raised her hand with the heart in it threatingly, considering throwing it. Brooke didn't know her own strength and the heart cracked under the pressure she'd been placing on it, splitting in an aray of bright pink lights. Brooke dropped the heart in alarm and with the heart dropped MYTHS, Selena included. The five girls dropped to their knees, their lungs seeming to stop working and their heart's had stopped beating.

"What's happening?" Riley asked looking at the gasping Selena in fear. No one answered him so he took matters into his own hands, literally. He bent downt o pick up Selena in his arms and Demi made a portal, the three of them jumping through. Bre followed immediately but Brooke paused, looking at the dying girls with wide blue eyes before a hand shot out and yanked he through.

* * *

**AN: I Don't Know when I'll be able to post this since I'm kinda…well…um…ya know….grounded. And I know you're probably like "OH, Wynn-J, you badass you, what could you have done **_**this time**_**?" And I'll only reply with "I'm just that slick." (A.K.A I suck at South Carolina History.) ANYWHORE (That's meh new word) , I'll begin working on chapters on my little, uh, break.**

**Thanks for reading and review if you wanna! Thank you! BYE.**


	32. 29: Give Thanks, You Bitches

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 31: Give Thanks, You Bitches**

* * *

"Is she doing any better?" Brooke managed to choke out, her hand still fumbling with the green heart at her neck. Demi looked at it with a sort of hatred. This all was a bad idea. They should've just let the legend unroll all by itself but now things had changed. In the legend, Selena was never supposed to leave MYTHS. Riley wasn't supposed to become so infatuated with her. Or at least, not to the point where he was sitting on her bedside, praying she'd wake back up.

"She's still unconscious." Demi grunted, running a hand though his midnight black hair. "No thanks to you."

Brooke narrowed her eyes. "How was I supposed to know this would happen, huh? You're telling me all these years the heart's never broken once?"

"I'm sure it has." Demi nodded surely. "But not with The Guardians of Legend it hasn't."

"What is so goddamned important about this legend?" Brooke muttered. Demi huffed. He'd tried explaining it to her countless times. Woman tries to take over universe, guardians are the only ones who can stop her, woman dies, guardians die, world saved, the end. Brooke still didn't get it.

"Where's Bre?" Demi asked sullenly. Brooke scowled.

"What, you care about her or something now?" Demi leaned back on the wall in the Bat Cave. He smiled cockily.

"More like a immaterial interest."

Brooke's lips picked up at the corner slightly despite the situation. "I knew you'd warm up to her. You like her?"

"I don't really think now's the time to discuss my relationship status, do you?" he asked seriously. Brooke blew out a huff and averted her blue eyes to the floor. Her hand went back to the necklace, fumbling with it nervously.

"She's with her family." When Demi looked at her crazily she rolled her eyes. "It's Thanksgiving moron."

"And is this an important holiday or something to earthlings?"

"Okay, one- don't say the word earthlings. It reminds me of bad childhood memories involving E.T. and two- it's an American holiday where you give thanks for what you have. One of these being family not that I think you have one."

Demi jerked uncomfortably. "I have tons."

"Yeah," Brooke said unconvinced. "Sure, asshole." The door beside them opened and they both turned hopefully to see Riley exit with tired eyes. "Has she woken up yet? Can we talk to her?"

"She's still asleep. I think I know what's wrong with her though." Riley dragged.

"You do?" Demi asked incredibly. "Then do something? Fix it! Fix _her_!"

"You think I haven't tried?!" Riley yelled back fiercely. Demi stepped back and Brooke watched between the two, nervous. "She needs to have a sort of power surge. Like a dead battery to a car, sort of. The battery -the necklace- got cut off so she needs to be jump started."

Brooke hastily took of her necklace but Riley held out a hand, motioning for her to stop. "I've already tried. The way I see it, she can only get it back it the heart is fixed or if she gets her energy from some potion."

"Potion?" Brooke asked. "Like witch potion or something?"

Riley shook his head. "Basically a combination of herbs and plants."

"So? Let's get it." Brooke said hastily. Riley forced himself to inhale and shook his head.

"The only way to get the potion is to use plants from Meridian and we can't take it through the portal. It supposedly messes up its balance."

"Where did you learn all of this?" Brooke asked. Demi raised a hand, as if asking permission to insert himself back into the conversation.

"I found a book on it in the Meridian library; brought it back to see if it was useful." Brooke and Riley looked at each other, stumped. How could Brooke had let this happen? It was all her fault, everyone knew it. But would they be able to fix it? "We bring Selena to Meridian." Demi stated as if answering Brooke's question.

"She's in no condition to go to Meridian." Riley ground out. Demi scoffed.

"We can't being the potion to her so we bring her to the potion. Simple as that."

"She's not going to Meridian." Riley growled. Demi looked at the boy gruffly.

"You wanna help her, don't you? She can stay in the palace. The top floor so no one finds her- I'll keep her safe, Riley. I promise." Riley snarled and Brooke took a step back.

_A devil and an angel._ She thought again. _Kind of hard to tell who is who these days._

"You won't need to look out for her because she's not going."

"And why not?" Demi asked suspiciously. Riley thought back to the day he stood outside his father's room in the palace. When he said he needed the air guardian for something. Something Riley didn't know yet. Riley didn't answer and Demi smiled. "Exactly. This'll help her, Riley. You'll get your girl back."

Riley looked at Demi doubtfully as he entered the room Selena was sleeping in. Selena was staying at the palace now? G_reat_, Riley thought. _As if I didn't have enough problems._

Demi closed the door after him and stared at Selena's immobile body in the bed. She was paler than usual, her regular tan gone. Her bright blue eyes were closed and her brown hair was messy and waved around her head in a disorganized mess.

Demi looked at her sullenly. He was supposed to get her to the castle, King's orders. Riley wasn't supposed to know why but he sounded like he did since he was so against letting her go. Demi sunk to the floor and rested his head in his hands. _I'm going to Hell._

* * *

"Cookie?" Grace Yale asked her daughter at the table. Miranda looked up at her mom and sighed deeply. "You look sick. Do you need to visit the doctors before you go back to school?"

"No, mom, I'm fine." But it was a lie. That was better than _No, Mom, actually a doctor can't fix this because the source of my magical powers was broken the other day and the only reason I'm not out cold is because Hay Lin- yeah, that lady who runs the Chinese place- knows some freaky magical potion stuff that manages to keep me from being a tiny Sleeping Beauty._

Yep, _that_ conversation would go over well.

"Are you sure sweetie?" Grace asked, scooting the cookies towards her daughter.

"I don't need _cookies_ mom!" Miranda snapped. Grace jumped slightly and sat back in her chair, eyes focused on the large dinner in front of her. Miranda hugged herself tightly before saying, "He's not coming is he?"

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, dear. He's just running a little late is all."

"Late. Like when he was running late for my birthday's or piano recitals. He's always _late_ mom, you always say he's _late_ but he not. He's not _late_ he's just not there, he's never there." Miranda sighed. "He's never _here_."

Grace looked at her daughter sadly before thinking of a new conversation topic. "We should go to the salon. You need to cut your bangs." Miranda looked at her mother incredibly. When she runs out of cookies she gives beauty supply tips. Oh, that's _awesome_.

"I'm growing them out." Miranda said dryly, crossing her arms and glaring at the table. She shook her head, her black hair shimmying around her.

Suddenly the door bell rung and Miranda jumped out of her chair. She hadn't seen her dad in years. This would probably be her only chance. And yeah, she was pissed at him but father-daughter time wasn't something she could waste by being upset. This was a once in a three year opportunity.

She smiled and yanked the door open. "Hi, D-" It wasn't dad.

"Hey, Miranda." Derik smiled sheepishly. "I brought egg salad." His family stood behind him, smiles planted on their faces. Miranda's father wasn't in site. Somewhere inside, Miranda was crying a river that almost managed to come to her eyes. But before the tear could fall she grabbed her boyfriend and pulled him into a hug, burying her face in his neck. "I'm guessing you like egg salad." Derik laughed into her neck.

Miranda laughed. "I'm just really glad you're here."

* * *

"Shouldn't you be celebrating your Thanksgiving?" Demi asked snidely as Brooke tucked Selena's pale body into her new bed at the palace. Brooke turned away from her incapacitated friend and growled.

"Shouldn't you be stomping on puppies and cussing at nuns?"

"I've scheduled that at two to four o'clock today, thank you." Demi smiled cheekily. Brooke watched sadly from the doorway at Selena.

"Do you think she's dreaming?" she asked softly. "Nightmares?" Demi frowned and shook his head.

"Probably something about butterflies and rainbows." He said trying to cheer her up." You know Selena."

"Not enough." Bre said mournfully as she left the doorway and went to Selena's side. Brooke looked between the two of them before sighing.

"I'm gonna go check and see if Riley found the potion." She exited the room and Demi was left with Bre and Selena, watching them both with frowns.

Bre pulled blonde hair behind her ear and leaned down to Selena's ear to whisper something to her. Demi wanted to ask what she was saying but the Bre pulled back and sighed.

"I told her Riley's waiting for her." Bre sniffled, her voice breaking. Demi immediately wanted to comfort her. To go over to the bed and wrap his arms around her. So he did.

* * *

Yolanda pulled Tayler down the stairs forcefully and threw her into the bean bag. Tayler immediately stood and Yolanda went to her, placing a finger on her lips to motion for her to be quiet. Tayler looked at her questionably before an overwhelming sense of calmness fled into her body, basically pushing her back to the bean bag.

"What was that?' Tayler asked drowsily. Yolanda smiled.

"My new power." She said giddily. "Awesome, right? I can change people's energy. _And_ see aura's. I'm like a psychic."

Tayler groaned and thumped her head back on the bean bag. Yolanda winced. "Oh, yeah, kinda makes one sleepy. I'm still working out kinks." Tayler snored and Yolanda kicked the bean bag as Hailey and Miranda made their way down the steps.

"Emergency MYTHS meeting?" Hailey asked, propping herself up on the table behind her and playing with her red hair.

"MYTH," Yolanda corrected and she sent another jolt to the bean bag, snapping Tayler awake. _Don't remind me._ Miranda's thought said to the group. Miranda sat down in a chair as Yolanda walked to the center of the room and took a deep breath.

"Why are we here, Landa?" Miranda asked.

"We're supposed to be training." Hailey nodded. "I mean practicing." Yolanda pointed at Hailey, thankful.

"Exactly! It's starting to feel like their training us for something, right?" Yolanda asked. "And that book that Selena found with the necklace- no other guardians had a book so why do we?"

Miranda and Hailey looked at each other, not coming up with an answer as Tayler began snoring again. They ignored her. Yolanda continued. "And we all agree that Hay Lin and Irma- something's going on between them, right?"

"Are you implying that their gay because Hay Lin told me she's engaged." Hailey dragged. Yolanda held up an impatient hand for her to be silent.

"And all the guardians before us- they were friends. _Best_ friends but we all hated each other."

"But we're fine now, right?" Miranda asked. "What does it matter?"

"I have this theory." Yolanda suggested. "The guardians before us, they were obviously picked for certain reasons but they were also picked because it was known that they worked well together. We, on the other hand, never even acknowledged each other."

"And…" Hailey went.

Yolanda groaned. "If there was a trend going on with _all of the guardians_ before us, why are we so different?" They were silent. "Hay Lin and Irma. They know. There's something going on that their not telling us. Even Chris might as well know. I mean, when was the last time we all sat down in the restaurant and hang out?"

Hailey shrugged, "It has been awhile."

"Their keeping something from us." Yolanda stated. "And we need to find out what it is." The girls were quiet. Well, except for Tayler. _Snore._

Suddenly the door banged open and Hay Lin bounced down the stairs in her usual perkiness. Yolanda sent the girls a hesitant look and it was known. _Don't trust her. Not completely anyways._

"Who's ready for a field trip?" Hay Lin smiled. The three girls stared. Hay Lin continued as if they had replied enthusiastically. "So, I thought about how the bad guys needed those two girls and realized how stupid I was for not thinking of this earlier we can go to Kandrakar."

"Kandrakar? As in our heart?" Miranda asked. Hay Lin nodded, happy to have someone speak up.

"They know just about everything even if they only answer with cryptic stuff we'll still be closer at least. And while you're there you can find a new stone. It can't be that hard."

Yolanda looked at the girls again before going to the bean bag and smacking Tayler in the face.

"OW!" the girl screeched.

Yolanda smiled. "We're leaving."

"What happened to Fall Break?" Tayler asked sadly.

Yolanda scoffed. "Just come on and give thanks, you bitch." Tayler scowled and got up from the couch, her calmness gone.

"This break is going to suck ass." Hailey grumbled as they walked up the steps.


	33. 32: Royally Screwed Over

**MYTHS  
B****y: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 32: Royally Screwed Over**

* * *

"What happened?" Selena asked groggily, placing her hand to her forehead as she sat up in the soft bed. She looked around to get her surroundings but couldn't see past her friends. Bre and demi were smiling. _Demi can smile?_ Selena thought, almost wanting to poke the dimples to see if they were real. Brooke was basically staring up her nose, so close to Selena's face she felt self-conscious. Riley smiled warmly at her, brushing back her hair carefully.

"You may wanna lie back down," Riley advised. "You're in for a wicked couple of days." Selena followed instructions and when Riley pulled back his hand from her face she almost cried for him to bring it back.

"What happened?" Selena repeated. "Why can't I remember anything? Where am I? What-."

"Were you always this talkative?" Demi asked snidely, though his smile was still in place. Selena glared.

"What did you do to me?"

Demi's smile faded into a look of offense. "Why does she automatically assume it was me?"

"'Cause you're a jackass, maybe?" Brooke asked, pretending to be deep in thought over the question. Bre giggled.

"And you have all the room to talk." Demi rolled his eyes. Selena was about to ask the question again so Riley beat her to it with an answer.

"The heart got broken when we tried to return it to MYTH." Riley explained, leaving out the part where Brooke crushed it. She looked to him gratefully. "You passed out for a while. We had to bring you to Meridian to recuperate."

"And where exactly in meridian are we?" she asked, sitting back up to look around the room. Riley gently led her back to the mattress and answered.

"The palace." Selena's eyes widened. "No one knows you're here except us." _And the king, and your brother, and the guards, and…_ Demi thought guiltfully.

"Can't I go back home?"

"You're too weak." Riley said, shaking his head. "That portal would rip up your insides if you went through it right now."

"Way to paint a pretty picture." Brooke muttered. Riley ignored her and demi dismissed her with an eye roll while shoving her to the side. She growled and pushed back.

"You need to stay here for a while."

"How long it awhile?" Selena asked worriedly.

"Just a couple of weeks." Riley assured her. "I can tell your mom if you want me to." Selena groaned out of annoyance from remembering her mother. And brother.

"Don't bother. I highly doubt she notices me gone with her precious son back."

"Selena, she has to know- she'll worry."

"Not enough to come and find me." Selena mumbled. Riley looked at her doubtfully and Selena sighed. "I've been staying with Brooke for the past two weeks. Or, two weeks before the heart broke. My mom didn't call. Once."

"Maybe you just didn't get it." Riley persisted. Selena sighed and looked to the ceiling, done with the conversation. "I would stay with you but my dad would notice I'm not on Earth."

"I can stay." Demi suggested. Riley looked up at him and growled. "Nevermind."

"I'll do it." Brooke smiled. "I can handle this no problem. Chicken soup diet and all." Selena cringed.

"Please tell me she's joking."

* * *

_Two weeks later_

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Miranda asked, barging into the closed Silver Dragon with a Missing Person flyer in her hand. She slid into the booth with the others, Chris, Hay Lin, and Irma nowhere to be seen. The restaurant might as well had been empty, the lights were off except for one section of the main dining hall where the four girls sat.

"'Missing Person,'" Hailey read after fishing for her glasses from her bag. "'Brookelyn Gardener, age 14, height 5' 3", hair…' Brooke's gone missing?"

"Apparently." Miranda shrugged. She turned to Yolanda. "What's the gossip about it?"

Yolanda paused in putting on her lip stick to turn to the girls. "Well, word is she never came home one night during Fall Break and her parents called in 48 hours after, which was a day longer than usual. Police think they had something to do with it."

"I highly doubt her parents offed her, no matter how annoying the kid is." Tayler pointed out, propping her feet up on the table. Hailey glared at her and she pulled them down. "Do you think Hay Lin knows?"

"How can she not with all the flyers going around?" Hailey asked.

"And if she did would she tell us?" Yolanda asked. They were quiet for a moment. Hay Lin wasn't exactly on their good side. Or bad side. Or any side, really.

"Well, that part about her parents must be straight gossip." Miranda pointed out. "Her disappearance most likely has something to do with all this supernatural business we've been getting into."

"Or someone finally had enough of her and took an axe to her neck." Tayler clued.

"Okay, even though she meant it as a joke," Hailey said seriously. "It's still possible that happened."

"Why are you wearing your glasses?" Yolanda asked, as if the bifocals mere existence set her off.

"Studies show when one wears glasses it is automatically assumed that they are smart."

"But you're smart without glasses." Yolanda said dumbly, checking herself in her compact mirror.

"But I want to appear smart."

"…I still don't see the point in the glasses."

* * *

Yolanda fluttered her lashes and smiled as Chris wiped off the counter top in front of her. Sure, she said not to trust him but that didn't mean she couldn't flirt with him. Besides, Chris could do anything, could be related to anyone but he was still hot. "So, are you ready for Christmas?"

"I guess." He shrugged. "I've never done it before." Irma smiled behind him, checking the register at the bar.

"Well, it's awesome." Yolanda went.

Chris nodded. "I'm guessing you're in it for the presents."

Yolanda frowned. "I'm actually _very_ religious, thank you."

"Really?" Chris asked doubtfully. Yolanda puffed out her cheeks. This was not how this conversation was supposed to go. She looked around for something to talk about and in the end just twirled her hair in a response. "Okay then,"

He rolled his eyes and made his way to the back room and Yolanda watched him leave with a shocked expression. Irma giggled and Yolanda glared at her. Irma placed a hand to try to stop the bubbles of laughter and Yolanda slammed her head on the counter top.

"Oh, great. Even his _mom_ thinks I'm pathetic."

"Oh, sweetie, no I don't." she smiled.

"Then why are you still laughing?" Yolanda droned. At that Irma cracked up again. Yolanda looked up and glared again before standing to walk away. Irma grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"You're going about this the wrong way." Irma stated.

"Are you trying to give me guy advice?" Yolanda asked dubiously. Irma shook her head.

"No," she said. "Chris lessons." Yolanda sat back down. "Look, I haven't been involved in his life as much as I wanted to be but now that he's here I can definitely say he's like me when it comes to relationships."

"Which is," Yolanda led, resting her head on her fist.

"He wants things he can't have." Irma nodded towards Miranda who was in a booth with Derik, eating egg rolls and laughing. "A cute girl who's already taken by the most popular boy at school, a challenge, that's what he wants. Something to work for."

"Why does he need to work for Yale whenever he can just have me." Yolanda said, throwing down her hand and grumbling.

Irma raised an eyebrow. "And your incredible modesty." Yolanda blushed. "If you want Chris to want you, don't want him."

"How weird am I since I actually understood that." Irma just shrugged and went back to her register. Yolanda sighed before Hay Lin came up behind her.

"Virgin bar opens in five minutes!" Yolanda huffed and went to the back room for her work outfit.

* * *

At first Tayler thought it was a squirrel or something that was making the racket outside her bedroom window that night. She tossed and turned in her bed as another pound after another came from the wall under her window.

Finally she snapped out of bed, her hair frizzy, and temper as high as her flames. She marched out of the house after putting on some shoes and trying to tame her hair. She was going to kill the little thing doe destroying her sleep as she had to be awake for school in six hours.

Tayler stepped through the grass and went toward the bushes under her window and pulled them back angrily to see Hailey, braches stuck in her bright red hair.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Hailey looked up at her form her spot on the ground, still tugging at her hair as the branch banged into the wall behind her yet again.

"Um, looking for a new hair accessory?"

Tayler's eyes widened in anger. "Are you spying on me? _Again_? Gosh, _what_ is your problem?"

"_My_ problem?" Hailey snapped back, standing so Tayler couldn't stare down at her anymore. She was still pulling out the branches from her hair and frowned. "You're the one coming home to _this_. You act so brave and like you have everything together but you can't even stand up for yourself! You won't even admit it out loud!"

"Because it's exactly that! _MY_ problem. _Mine_. Why can't you just back off?"

"Because you're my friend and I'm not Selena."

"Selena was a better friend than you!" Tayler shouted, gesturing to the bushes. "She didn't sneak around my house after dark trying to see whatever it is you're trying to see."

Hailey's face got red. "_You're getting fucking abused, Tayler!_" Tayler's eyes widened. "You get hit and yelled at for stupid things that aren't even your fault. You sit here and let people mess you up and turn you against your friends and afraid to tell someone and you can't even admit it to yourself!"

"I'm fine, Hailey! Why can't you just take my word?"

"Because you're lying?" Hailey asked sarcastically. Tayler glared hard before huffing after thinking of nothing to say back and turning around. She went back around the edge of the house but Hailey followed her, taking the last leaf out of her hair. "Tayler, stop."

Tayler's legs halted on their own and she frowned. "Don't use your magic on me."

"I have to help you." Hailey tried to convince her, walking around to face her. "Tayler, I only want to help-."

"I don't _want_ your help! How many times do I have to say it? I don't need you, or Yolanda, or Selena getting all up in my business and ruining my life even more than it's already ruined!"

"But, Tayler-"

"_No_." she interrupted. Hailey stared at her, her blue eyes wide before she backed away, setting Tayler free. Hailey should've turned around and left, gone back home to her cheery, happy parents who were expecting their perfect baby. But going back to that world was almost as horrifying as staying in the one with Tayler.

Still, Hailey finally turned around and walked across the lawn until Tayler's voice cracked from behind her. "It's my dad." Hailey turned, happy to finally have Tayler opening up but frowned when she saw her friend sitting on the ground, her head in her hands, crying. "He used to hit JJ, my brother, when we were younger but then he got fed up with it and ran away three years ago. He just came back."

Hailey sat down beside her friend and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. Together they sat there and cried until Tayler's tory was done.

* * *

When Selena woke up before Brooke that morning, she knew that was probably going to be her only chance to get out of their room. She pulled her hair into a messy bun and rubbed her blue eyes as she crept out the door and into the hallway.

She was afraid to open doors, not wanting to walk in on someone. She wanted Riley, Bre, or even Demi to be there but they were on Earth, keeping up appearances. Besides, what would happen if she was caught? She could use her powers maybe. But then again she was weak. She probably couldn't even fight off a butterfly if it landed on her nose.

Selena slid down the hall and when she got to a corner, peeped over carefully. There, a guard opened a door and stepped into the hall, making Selena gasp silently and pull back. The floor creaked under her barefoot feet.

"Who's there?" asked the deep voice. At the sound of footsteps Selena bolted, opening whatever door was closest, not caring about what was on the other side. She held her breath until the guard passed by and only then did she turn to see what room she was in.

Two desks sat connected in the center of books. Some organized onto shelves, other just thrown on the ground. Selena stepped hesitantly into the unorganized library and felt a wave of comfort pass as she remembered the library at home. Then her cheeks blushed at the remembrance of Riley's kiss, his soft lips moving on hers in tandem.

She shook her head but her cheeks remained red as she walked to the desks and sat down sending dust into the air. She waved it off, trying not to cough. The dust disappeared immediately and Selena made a small sound of happiness.

_This would be a safe place to test wind powers._ She thought. _No one will notice a mess._ She opened up her palm and closed her eyes. She tried to concentrate purely on her powers but she was reminded of thoughts of Heatherfield, the coldness and pale streetlights. _Home._ She thought just as a book came flying at her.

She opened up her eyes to see it just in time before it smacked her in the face. Her eyes widened at how close it was to her face before she opened the book and a blinding blue light arched up from it and stuck to er skin. She hurriedly slammed it back closed.

_The fuck was that?_ She thought. First the book the book attacked her and now it was doing things that a book should _not_ do. She looked closely at the pages in between the covers and noticed that they were all blue but otherwise looked normal.

She put the book back down and edged it open. The blue came back and attached to her hand then arm, moving up and around her body until all she saw was a bluish-white and there was a ringing in her ears..

When her vision came back, though her ears heard nothing, she was in a familiar setting, the room small and warm. Then she remembered: it was Chris's house- the one they'd ran back to when they escaped from the palace. Did that mean it was her place too?

And then her mother walked in, a smile on her face as she went to check a pot on the stove.

"Mom." Selena asked shocked. She stepped forward and reached out a hand but her mother didn't seem to hear or see her. "Mom?"

When a man stepped through the door, two children tugging and pulling at him, Selena's eyes widened and she bent down to eye level with the little girl who was hugging his leg. _That's me._ She looked up to the man she was holding onto. _That's my dad._

She had no memory of her dad, no pictures or any remains. But she could see the resemblance between him and Chris. The deep brown hair and dark blue eyes, basically a deeper version of herself.

Her father placed a kiss on Irma's cheek and little Chris and Selena ran around the kitchen table. Selena got down on her knees, watching them at their own level, racing eatchother and laughing.

When miniature Selena stopped in front of her, she stared curiously, and the real Selena stared back. "You can see me?" Selena asked herself before a thought struck her. She looked to the top of tiny-Selena's head to see no scar, nothing for any head band to cover up. "Can you hear me?"

Little Selena's eyebrows pinched together just as the door burst open and guards raided the house, guns shooting bullets through the air.

Selena dropped to the ground subconsciously before standing back to her knees, squeaking, and peaking over the table.

Miniature Selena was gone along with Irma, her father and brother only remaining. Her dad pushed Chris out of the way and a bullet went through his chest. Then another. Selena covered her eyes and rocked back to her spot on the ground, glad she still couldn't hear to count for how many bullets rang.

Then the darkness from her hands was replaced with the blue light, attaching itself to every surface until she was in the library again, breathing heavily and staring down at the closed book.

* * *

When Tayler showed up at the Silver Dragon basement that Saturday, the other three girls watched quietly as she made her way down the steps. Tayler shouldered off her bag onto the floor and rocked back and forth on her feet, blowing raspberries.

"So…" she said as the girls stared at her solemnly. "We gonna practice or…"

"I told them." Hailey said guiltily.

Tayler took a deep breath. "Of course you did." She sighed. "I was an idiot to think you wouldn't."

Miranda spoke up. "You know, we can help."

"Why does everyone automatically assume I need help?" Tayler asked. Yolanda stared.

"Is this another one of your jokes?" she asked dully. "It's not funny. I mean, they're usually not funny but this one's extremely not funny."

"I think we should tell Hay Lin or Irma or the police." Hailey stated. "I mean, abuse is a serious crime that's committed in so many-."

"Hailey," Tayler chided. "Don't turn me into one of your statistics, okay? I'm not some one-eyed kitten like in those ASAP commercials."

"It's ASPCA." Miranda corrected quiet enough so the only person who heard was Yolanda who was sitting next to her.

"Look, the point is,-."

"You're not fine, Tayler." Yolanda snapped. "You're not okay, it's not normal, or anything else you keep saying. It's wrong. Stop being such a damn victim and stick up for yourself."

"We can tell someone together." Hailey said, ignoring Yolanda's comment.

"Yeah," Miranda agreed. "You can even stay with me until then."

Tayler fidgeted uncomfortably in her sweater, messing with the sleeves. Finally, instead of agreeing, she reached down and grabbed her bag before awkwardly rubbing her Converse into the ground. "I see you guys later." She mumbled, going up the stairs and back outside.

* * *

**AN: WAHHHHHHH TWO MORE CHAPTERS. Anyone else all excited-y? I am. It's like one of those stupid countdowns that they do on TV before a season finale or something. *****Giggle***** yea. Check out my profile for the last MYTHS poll or just PM me the answer!**


	34. 33: Merry Christmas

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 34: Merry Christmas**

* * *

Tayler pulled her cap off of her head and she walked through her small house. "Hello?" she yelled. "Anyone home?" Tayler shrugged off her jacket and ruffled her hair lazily as a familiar voice yelled in response,

"Back here!" Tayler stopped moving and breathing, frozen in her spot for a moment before racing to her room and throwing open the door to see Selena standing awkwardly in the middle of her room. She shifted from foot to foot before randomly throwing her hands in the air for the ta-da affect. "Merry Christmas."

Tayler ran forward and wrapped her arms around the girl who, this time, wasn't with a group of evil bastards. Or at least, that's how she saw it.

Tayler squeezed her eyes shut and pulled Selena harder. "I don't care why you're back," Tayler said. "But I'm glad you are."

Selena blinked. "I'm not coming back, Tayler." Tayler lifted her head from Selena's shoulder and looked at her questionably.

"But- I mean- why? We care about you Selena! All that stupid fighting and lies that made you leave, it's all over and done with."

"Really?" Selena asked doubtfully, remembering her father standing in the house as the bullets drove into his chest. Irma never told her her father died and that most definitely counted as a lie.

"Things are going crazy!" Tayler dragged herself to her bed and slumped into the cushions. "Brooke's gone and her parents are basically calling the CIA to come and find her."

"She's with us," Selena shrugged.

Tayler looked at her stupidly. "Yeah, well, we can't exactly explain that to her parents." Then Tayler remembered, "And our heart is broken thanks to her. We have to go to Kandrakar later and get a new one. At least that's what Hay Lin says but who knows if we can trust her."

"You don't trust Hay Lin anymore?" Selena's eyebrows came together in confusion. "Why?"

"It's a long and stupid case of Yolanda's paranoia that we all have to listen to just in case it's true. What about you? What's going on in Land of the Bitches."

Selena smiled. "They're not that bad if you gave 'em half a chance." Tayler scoffed. "And it's not so bad. We're close."

Tayler raised an eyebrow. "Especially you and an extremely cute brown-haired, hazel-eyed, ball of cuteness by the name of Riley?"

Selena blushed. "We're kind of on a friend-."

"You're stuck in the friend zone?" Tayler winced. "Ow, that'd gotta suck."

Selena blushed redder. "Well, I mean, I kinda kissed him and-."

"YOU KISSED RILEY AND NEVER TOLD ME?"

"We weren't exactly on a kiss-telling relationship at the time." Selena said, covering her face with her hands. "And he doesn't like me like that."

Tayler sighed and ran her hands over her face, looking for something to say before coming up with, "So where are you staying at? Irma says you're not home anymore."

Selena scoffed. "I'm surprised she noticed. I'm staying with Brooke at the Meridian castle of building. It feels more like a dungeon though, Riley never lets me leave."

"Then how'd you get here?" Tayler asked.

Selena shrugged. "I didn't tell him." And then after a pause she said, "And we got a heart."

"How do you just get a heart?" Tayler asked. "Hay Lin says there's some stupid long ritual or something." Selena explained the story of getting a new heart and how it was the source of the Meridian guards powers. "it was really crazy," Selena said in a rush. "I mean, our reflections in the stone talked back to us and while it was extremely uncomfortable it was-."

"I told people." Tayler informed, dropping her head on her fist. "Well, specifically, I told Hailey who told people. Now they all know."

"I'm guessing all but the cops." Selena grumbled, lying back on the bed.

Tayler sighed in frustration. "Not you too! I thought you understood me not telling."

"No, I understood you not wanting _me_ to tell. And it is your decision to tell or not to tell." Selena shrugged. Tayler laid down opposite of her. "But this isn't just affecting you. I mean, your friends and your brother have to see you get hurt and that hurts them. Hailey wasn't doing anything wrong by telling everyone. I should have."

Tayler sat up and looked down at Selena. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Yeah, but I should've. Maybe we still would've been friends."

Tayler's eyebrows scrunched together. "We are friends." She said. Selena pushed herself up and off the bed, motioning to the window behind her.

"I gotta go." And then, with no other parting words, she did.

* * *

"Demi's hair is really soft." Bre said dreamily playing with the ends of her hair. "Like softer than mine which is saying something." Selena and Brooke looked at eatchother before picking up pillows and throwing them at her head. "What? It is!"

"Are you sure you're actually leaning things during your training sessions with demi or are you just fantasizing about his hair?" Brooke asked with a raised eyebrow.

"His hair," Selena laughed. "His eyes, his teeth, his lips-."

"His butt." Bre smiled. Selena puckered up her face and threw another pillow. Bre hugged it close to her chest before sniffing the air. "Does anyone else smell that?"

"Yeah, I smell it too." Selena said, standing and trying to locate the familiar scent. "I can't remember what it is." She walked slowly around the room before realizing the smell came from outside the door. Selena pressed her ear against the cold wood and heard the floor boards creaking. "No one knows we're up here, right?" she whispered.

"Is someone coming?" Brooke asked as Bre jumped off the bed. Selena's eyes widened and she ran from the door.

"Hide!" she instructed. Brooke ran to the closet and Bre under the bed. The door knob turned and Selena closed her eyes, turning herself invisible and then-.

"Surprise!" Riley smiled to the empty room before being pushed out of the doorway by Demi, both of them carrying bags of fast food. "Uh, guys?"

Selena reappeared and said, somewhat disappointedly, "Oh, it's just them." Brooke peaked out of the closet and Bre immerged from under the bed.

"Don't sound too excited." Demi frowned, dropping the food onto the bed. "We are after all, only bring food."

"You're supposed to bring presents." Brooke glared, reaching into a bag at random and pulling out a fry. "It's Christmas."

Demi handed a bag to Bre and then threw one at Brooke who scowled at him while freezing it and grabbing it out of the air.

Riley smiled and handed a bag to Selena. "I brought your favorite." Selena grinned and pulled out her BLT with pure happiness.

"Gosh, I miss fast food." She admired, sitting on the carpet and resting against the wall before taking a bite.

"I miss shopping." Brooke frowned, grabbing a cup from the tray and drinking.

Demi smirked. "I'm sure a mini recession is occurring due to your sudden lack of spending."

Brooke glared. "The day I murder you in your sleep…" she started.

"Can you not?" Bre scolded. "We're supposed to be jolly."

"It's almost New Year's." Demi stated. "The heart will stop working if we don't-."

"Can't we just sit her and enjoy Christmas _without_ talking about anything involving powers and death?" Selena asked, grabbing a soda and sipping from the straw.

Riley coughed awkwardly. "Uh, that one's mine." Selena put the cup down and blushed.

"Sorry."

"S'okay." Riley said, picking the cup back up and drinking from it himself. Selena sighed deeply and tried to keep her focus on Brooke and Demi's arguing as she took another bite of her burger.

* * *

"It's so _pretty_," Yolanda said unbelievably once they'd all gotten through the portal to Kandrakar. "It's like the place where you'd expect unicorns to fly."

"Pegasus." Miranda corrected.

"What?"

"Pegasus fly; unicorn's don't."

"Shut up." Yolanda frowned as Hailey and Tayler laughed. Tayler walked over to a pink cloud and inspected it carefully.

"Do you think it's made out of cotton candy?" she inquired.

Hailey rolled her eyes. "It's Kandrakar not Candy Land, Tay." Tayler flew down beside the others on the ground in front of the large castle before them. "So what? We just bust in and demand a heart?"

"I think they already know we need one." Miranda said thoughtfully. "I mean, they have to, right? They know everything."

"If they know _everything_," Yolanda growled, "They could've warned us in the first place."

"Maybe it was a test." Hailey went.

"And we failed." Tayler mused walking forward along with everyone else. They reached the large doors uncertainly and for several seconds just stared at it. Then Yolanda huffed and knocked, no _banged_, on the doors. "Hello?" she screamed. "Yoo-Hoo!"

"Well, at least we're not being subtle." Hailey murmured.

"No one's answering." Miranda inspected.

Tayler squished her eyebrows. She puckered her lips and asked like a lost girl in the woods, "Are we in the right dimension?"

"Maybe we should turn around." Hailey suggested. Yolanda rolled her eyes and pushed at the door which was lighter than she expected. It banged open and they were overcome with a disgusted odor that curled around their bodies. "Oh my God," Hailey said, pinching her nose.

"That is disgusting," Tayler gagged.

Miranda coughed. "If Selena were here we'd have a personal air freshener." Tayler became overwhelmed with guilt. She knew Miranda missed Selena more than anyone else and Tayler still hadn't told anyone about Selena's visit on Christmas three days ago.

"Anyone wanna go in first?" Yolanda asked, her eyes watering. "No it."

"Not it," Tayler and Hailey said simultaneously before smiling at one another.

Miranda frowned and marched in with a pinched nose. "Damn you." She told them just as she stopped at the sight before her and dropped her hand from her nose. The smell wouldn't bother her anymore- she'd stopped breathing.

"Guys?" she asked after a moment. "You might wanna see this." Then she reconsidered, backing back to the door. "And I use the word 'might' loosely."

The girls stepped through the door and stopped beside Miranda. Every person, everything, even the _plants_, were dead. Blood on the floors and walls, people thrown across every surface.

One man was even standing up, the sword shot right through his chest and into the ground keeping him up right. Hailey buried her head in Yolanda's shoulder, not wanting to see anymore.

Yolanda raised her hand and pointed to the standing man, in his hand dangled from a piece of rope, was a heart, pink as the clouds outside and not a single crack in sight.

And beside it sat a note. Yolanda didn't want to walk close enough to read it so she shifted her hand and the note came to her. "This is your last heart," she whispered aloud. "Don't break it."

* * *

"Dead, all of 'em." Tayler explained to Irma and Hay Lin when they got back. "Not one living thing in sight besides us."

"They're all…dead?" Hay Lin asked for them umth-teenth time. Yolanda shivered. "How'd you get the heart?"

Miranda rolled the rock between her palms nervously. "Some guy was holding it."

"The Oracle?" Irma asked.

"Are we supposed to know who that is?" Hailey asked Tayler in a whisper. She shrugged in response.

"How could no one have told us they were _dead_?" Hay Lin asked, shocked.

"Well," Miranda thought. "Aren't they the ones who are supposed to tell you when someone's dead? And since they died I highly doubt anyone knew."

"What about us?" Yolanda asked. "If someone killed all of them and left a note for us then are they gonna kill us too? Are we gonna die?" When no one answered Yolanda stood from the booth in Silver Dragon and marched away.

"What about the heart?" Miranda asked, holding up the rock. "The chain broke and I can't wear a rope around my neck."

Hailey watched the heart twinkle in the light boredly. "You could turn it into a bracelet." Hay Lin and Irma froze. Hailey raised an eyebrow. "What? What's wrong with a bracelet?"

"Nothing." Hay Lin said, shaking her head and looking to Irma. The guardians of legend had a bracelet instead of a necklace. Which mean the legend was coming true. "It just sounds like a cute idea is all." She lied.

Miranda shrugged and stood up, Tayler followed after her. "Miranda?" she asked when they had walked out of ear shot.

"Yeah?"

"Do you think it'd be cool if I stayed at your place for a while?" Tayler asked. "Just for a little bit."

Miranda raised both eyebrows, surprised Tayler was taking her offer of staying out of her own house. "It would be awesome." Miranda nodded. Tayler smiled and followed her out of the Silver Dragon.

* * *

**AN: Dear God, this story only has one more chapter left. I think I might go crazy or something. :p. The final chapter of MYTHS should be coming soon, as in before Saturday. Don't forget to vote on the poll! The last one was a three-way tie for 'Best Couple' on MYTHS, the winners being Miranda and Derik, Selena and Riley, and Tayler and no one! Yep, that last one kinda shocked me too.**

**But keep voting and reviewing, the next and last chapter (I just love typing that) will be up soon!**


	35. 34: And a Happy New Year

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Chapter 34: And a Happy New Year**

* * *

"You're cheating." Selena concluded in finality, slapping down her cards on the bed spread in her and Brooke's room. Her messy hair was falling out of her pony tail and she had to keep shoving her brown locks out of her face but she didn't have the effort to fix it through she did when Riley first entered her room.

"How am I cheating?" Riley asked confusedly but there was still a smile on his face. He organized his hand of cards while looking up at her. Selena was in one of Bre's tank tops which meant she had to cover herself in a jacket because Bre basically wore nothing. He watched as she moved another strand of hair off her face.

"You're not telling me when you have my number." Selena persisted, crossing her arms and lifting her nose defiantly.

Riley shuffled in his spot on her bed and titled his head towards her in question. "Or you're just a sore loser." Riley pointed out. Selena gasped in overdramatic anger.

"Or you're a good liar." Selena shot back. Riley raised an eyebrow and showed her his cards. None of his matched hers. Selena frowned. "This is the worst game of gold fish ever."

Riley put down his own cards. "I agree."

Selena nodded and tried to look away from his hazel eyes. "So," she went.

"So," Riley mused.

"What would you say if I wanted to go back to Earth," Selena said slowly.

"I'd say you should wait until your strength is back up." Riley stated. Selena still hadn't told him about her visit to Tayler on Christmas two days ago. He'd totally freak out if he knew she left. And he was right, it did wipe her out and she slept the whole day afterwards but she just wanted to visit.

"And what would you say if I went back to MYTHS?" Selena asked, slower than before. When he didn't reply she finally look him in the eye. Riley was smiling.

"Selena, you can do whatever you want; it's your life." Riley pushed back on the bed so he rested on his hands and arms. "You wanted to leave, you did. You want to rejoin, you can. Though I don't think Brooke and Bre are going to take it lightly."

"That's another thing." Selena said, biting her lip. "We're powerful, right? And so is MYTH. So if we-."

"Are you suggesting we team up?" Riley asked with an eyebrow raised. Selena nodded. "As in, put Yolanda, Brooke and Demi all in the same room and try to have them work together."

Selena sighed dejectedly. "Well, when you put it like that," Selena breathed deeply and lay down on her stomach on the fluffy bed. "Our heart stops working on New Year's. It's only the day after tomorrow."

"We can worry about it later." Riley suggested. "Besides it's not like we plan to do anything especially significant with it." Selena looked up at him as he continued speaking and after about two solid seconds of trying to resist the temptation she looked at his mouth.

She was staring at him like a freak basically when Riley smiled and laughed, remembering the day they were in the library when he asked her to the dance. How _he _was staring at her. It felt like such a long time ago and it kind of was. A lot had happened in those two months.

"What?" Selena asked.

"Nothing." Riley shook his head before focusing his hazel eyes on her completely. She looked down and blushed. "What about us?"

"What _about_ us?" Selena asked.

Riley frowned. "When you leave and go back to MYTHS. What will happen to us?" Selena sat up and accidentally bumped the top of her head on Riley's chin. They both winced and Selena turned redder.

"Sorry!" she cringed, looking up to see if he was okay. His hand left his chin and his eyes took in the now smaller space between them. Selena pushed back more hair, suddenly self-conscious. Why didn't she use some on Brooke's makeup? "We'll still be friends." Selena finally answered. "Right?"

She reached up to move back another strand of hair but Riley beat her to it, pushing the brown hair behind her ear and bumping their noses together.

"I don't want to just be your friend, Selena." He said, eyes looking into hers hopefully.

Selena smiled, her stomach twisting with butterflies. "Good." And this time, he kissed her, bringing up his other hand to hold both her cheeks. Selena almost stopped breathing before kissing him back and resting her hands on his chest.

* * *

"Hay Lin do you really think this is the right time to be throwing a party?' Irma asked with a raised eyebrow as Hay Lin posted a flyer outside of the Silver Dragon. "The legend's coming true, everyone's dead, we need to make up a new game plan."

"That's what the party's for!" Hay Lin smiled. Irma glared, arms crossed. "We can start thinking about ways to kill a psychotic all-powerful woman trying to control all dimensions _after_ that clock strikes midnight tomorrow."

Irma threw her head back and let out a frustrated sigh before taking the stapler from Hay Lin and posting more flyers on the walls.

"I think a party's a great idea." Yolanda said, placing the drinks in front of her friends at the virgin bar. "What better way to celebrate a new year?"

"I can think of a few things." Tayler sighed lazily stirring the straw in her drink. "Though most of them are illegal, so, yeah."

Hailey spun in her chair and turned to Miranda. "Is Derik coming?" Miranda nodded in response, stilling swallowing her Shirley Temple whole. Yolanda frowned.

"Oh, great. Not only do I have to cater a whole party with an immature staff but, I have to carter my ex-boyfriend." She dejectedly landed her chin on her fist and watched as a couple left the restaurant with a flyer.

"I'm not immature," Chris supplied from the cash register.

Yolanda rolled her eyes. "I was talking about you specifically." Hailey smiled.

"Well, at least now I have something to do tomorrow night. Otherwise I was just going to have to listen to my parents go on and on about their little Bailey/Hallie baby their expecting."

"They didn't want to think of more original names, perhaps?" Tayler asked with a raised eyebrow.

"If only," Hailey sighed.

Miranda blew her bangs out of her eyes. "What do you think Selena's doing for New Years?" The girls became quiet and Chris pretended he hadn't heard from the register, clicking random buttons to distract himself. Suddenly the machine made a loud and constant beeping noise and the girls, along with customers who were unfortunate enough to be sitting next to it, started to complain.

* * *

"Where are you taking me?" Miranda asked with a smile. The blind fold around her eyes itched as she followed Derik's lead outside of the Silver Dragon the next night. "We're supposed to be at the party."

"No one will miss us." Derik promised, guiding Miranda in front of him and resting his chin on her head. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be." Miranda sighed. Derik untied the blind fold and it slid to their feet soundlessly. On the grass field out behind the Silver Dragon and picnic was set up with lights around to keep everything aglow. Miranda's eyes widened. "Did you do this?"

"No I found it earlier and thought I'd show you it." Miranda elbowed him lightly before walking to the blanket where the food was laid out and smiling as Derik came next to her and pressed a kiss to her lips before they both sat down and ate.

* * *

Yolanda laid out the platters carefully on the long table and sighed as they were quickly attacked by guest. She marched back to the kitchen and sat on the countertop next to the sink where Chris was doing dishes. "I have had it," Yolanda started with an angry yell. "With serving those _beasts_. They yell as if they aren't standing _right next to eatchother_. They stink up the bathroom and fail to use the air freshener. They put everything in the recycling bin, as in _everything_. Also, I swear a little kid almost bit off my finger while I was putting out the chicken nuggets plate."

"And you're telling me this because…" Chris wondered aloud. Yolanda glared.

"I would swap jobs with you if it didn't ruin my nails." She sneered. Chris rolled his eyes and before stopping to think about it, he grabbed Yolanda's wrist and shoved her hand in the hot, soapy sink water. Yolanda tugged her hand out of his grasp and whipped it out of the sink. "You are such a _jack ass_!"

Chris looked at her silently before bursting into a fit of laughter. Yolanda glared but suddenly found herself smiling. She scoffed at herself and reached back into the water. Chris looked at her confusedly before she flung the water at him.

She laughed from her spot on the counter and threw more. Chris, in response, threw water back. Yolanda wiped her wet hands in his hair and he smiled when she cringed at him sliding his slimy hands on her face.

Yolanda, taking advantage of the moment, pulled him to her and kissed him, wrapping her arm around his neck. Chris was too stunned to move at Yolanda moved her experienced lips over his warm ones. Then, as if the whole ordeal never happened, she hopped off the counter and saluted him before walking out the door.

Chris stared after her, dazed. "Earth girls are _crazy_."

* * *

Tayler watched as Yolanda bounced past her happily from the kitchen. "What's up with you?" she asked. Yolanda jumped, not noticing her standing beside the door, drink in hand.

"Uh," Yolanda stuttered. Tayler took in her wet face and flushed cheeks before sending a curious glance at the kitchen door.

"You know what," Tayler smiled. "I think I know." Yolanda tried to slow her breath to calm down but that seemed to be making it worse. She ended up just smiling like an idiot. "You and Selena's brother."

"Don't say it like _that_." Yolanda glared.

Tayler laughed. "You'll be sisters-in-law. Related! You and Selena. Oh my God, that is deeply fucked up."

"We're not getting _married_, idiot." Yolanda straightened herself. "It was just a kiss."

"Sure," Tayler smiled. Yolanda looked for something else to say.

"So I hear you're staying with Miranda now." She blurted. Tayler nodded uncertainly. "That's…good."

"Yeah," Tayler shrugged. "I'm moving in with my aunt when school's out though."

"Good." Yolanda stated.

"You still thinking about Chris?"

"No." Yolanda scoffed, lying.

"You do know I can read your mind, right?"

"Shut up."

* * *

"How was the baby talk?" Hailey looked up as Tayler slid in the seat across her in the booth. Hailey closed the book she had open in front of her and shrugged. Tayler raised an eyebrow. "You brought a book to a party?"

"I have to study for E.O.C.'s." Hailey said responsibly. Tayler stared. "They're End of Course Exams."

"Shouldn't there be another E at the end, then?" Tayler asked. Hailey sighed and decided to leave the topic alone. Tayler got the clue. "When do you learn if you got into that Mock Trail summer camp. Did seducing Brian work?'

Hailey scoffed. "I gave up on that a long time ago. Now all I have is him stalking me and an empty application."

"So you don't want to go anymore?" Tayler asked curiously.

Hailey scoffed. "I don't want to be a lawyer anymore." She frowned. "I don't want to be anything. I've lost all future plans and I feel completely lost."

"You should calm down." Tayler suggested. "It's not terrible to not have a plan. I mean, you're fourteen."

"Thirteen," Hailey corrected.

Tayler smiled. "Exactly. You don't need a life plan at thirteen."

"But I'd feel better if I had one." Hailey grumbled. Tayler sighed and rested her head in her palm with a smile.

"You could always just try everything and see what you like best." She suggested. Hailey looked up with bright blue eyes.

"You are a _genius_, Tayler Clayton, a _freakin'_ genius!" Tayler quickly reached in her pocket and dug through, looking for something. "What are you-."

"Can you say that genius thing again into my phone. I'm making it a ringtone."

* * *

"Five." Brooke smiled at her wrist watch.

"Four." Selena wrapped her hand in Riley's.

"Three." Riley leaned back against the wall in Brooke and Selena's room.

"Two." Bre jumped excitedly. Suddenly the door broke open and guards filled the room, snatching their arms and pulling them. Bre screamed as they tugged them against their fighting and Riley's father stepped through the door, his scars making Brooke gag.

"One." He stated coldly. Brooke used her only free hand to clutch her green heart at her throat before her blue eyes went wide in remembrance. It was midnight of New Year's Day.

They had no powers.

* * *

**AN: Well, I feel like a loser for not updating this sooner. I apologize immensely but you should blame internet hot spots for not doing their job. To show my apology I will make sure to upload the epilogue today if not tomorrow but hopefully today. Don't forget to review and answer the poll on my profile!**


	36. Epilogue: Idiots

**MYTHS  
****By: Wynn-J  
****Epilogue: Idiots**

* * *

Selena, Brooke and Bre were knelt on their knees in front of the empty throne in the throne room. They said nothing but Brooke's hard eyes spoke volumes. The guards lastly kicked Riley at the back of his knees and he fell beside them.

The Meridian guards stayed behind them, making sure their hands were still locked behind their backs and that they didn't send signals to each other. Selena felt like she was in a cop show, maybe a dealer caught with illegal drugs. Except she hadn't done anything wrong. They had. The good guys were losing. And then Selena felt like punching herself in the face. She wasn't a good guy, not really. She'd left MYTHS and had been bitching the whole time about not being accepted and now she was finally getting punished.

Soon all the scary stuff would be over. She'd be sent home and away from Riley but she'd find him again and she'd rejoin MYTHS. She just had to get past all this scary stuff.

The room was already quiet but it felt incredibly silent whenever noise actually filled the room. Footsteps. It took a few moments but then Riley's father entered and made his way to the throne and sat, his oldest son, Finn, behind him. And after Finn was…Demi?

"Demi?" Bre asked, her blue eyes wide. Riley scoffed. It wasn't really a surprise. In fact, he was an idiot for not noticing it earlier.

Brooke's eyes flashed red. "Demetrius Black, when I get my hands on you I'll-."

"Do nothing." Finn finished. "Your powers won't work. Not only is it New Year's but this room is filled with Radlith, a stone that neutralizes all powers." Brooke breathed deeply and when she opened her mouth again the guard behind her kicked her back hard, making her face hit the ground with a groan.

The guard violently pulled her back to her knees and Brooke's blonde hair fell into her face but she couldn't fix it. Riley's father looked to Demi, who stood stiffly at his side, opposite of Finn. Demi knew they were waiting for him to speak so he tried to keep his expression neutral as he spoke.

"You said you wouldn't hurt Breanna." Bre looked up confusedly. Selena tried to looked and see what Bre would do or say but everyone else blocked her vision. Bre scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion and Riley glared.

"You sold us out," he said, eerily calm, "For a _girl_?" Riley's father frowned down at him and raised a hand to stop the guard from hurting him for speaking.

"He followed in your footsteps." He said, his tone indicating boredom. He looked to Selena. "Air guardian, how's your brother? Christopher?" When Selena didn't answer the guard shook her. She grunted and Riley protested. Selena tried to use her powers to get out but the Radlith was strong, the only product from her attempt was her hair blowing back from her face. "You two, air guardian and heart of Earth," Brooke looked up with a scowl. "We've been searching for you two girls for some time. We've almost had you, multiple times, in fact, but things kept getting in the way. My son, for example."

"You said you'd let Bre go." Demi persisted. The king raised an eyebrow. "You promised."

The king sighed. "Let the girl go. She is no matter to us anyways." The guard began to let Bre go and Demi walked towards she but she pulled back.

"Bre, what are you doing?"

She scoffed. "I'm definitely not going with you." She spat. "I'd rather die."

The king shrugged. "Then you will." Demi turned back to face him with big eyes.

"But you said you'd let her leave!"

"Demetrius," the king chastised. "I said I'd let her leave _with you_. And unless she wishes to, she will stay."

"I'm staying." Bre promised.

Demi stared at her. "He'll _kill_ you." He said lowly so only she could hear. "Are you an idiot?" Bre only raised an eyebrow and sunk back to her knees, her eyes everywhere but Demi.

"Take the boy." The king commanded. Guards dragged Demi out the large room. The king pointed to Bre. "You will be killed then." Bre stared at the ground. "Air guardian and heart of Earth, you will be sent to Meridith."

"Meridith?" Brooke asked, not caring if she was kicked again. "What the hell is that?" It sounded somewhat familiar to her and she almost thought she heard the words come from Demi's mouth. Was it possible that Demi had tried to warn her? But why would he do that?

Selena and Brooke were raised to their feet. Selena looked to Riley with sad blue eyes. "Riley?" she asked quietly.

She was pushed out of the room as Riley's father continued. "Riley, you've been a disappointment." _Haven't heard that one before_. Riley thought sarcastically. "Your recent actions are treason against your own kingdom. And treason is punishable by death."

"So you're going to kill me?" Riley asked, eyebrow raised. "Just like that? You're my father."

The king frowned. "Not anymore."

* * *

**AN: Uh…yeah, so you're probably like, "So, I thought you said you'd update Saturday, ass hole." and I'm like, "Uh, yeah, um, my cat died?" and you'll be all like "You don't have a cat. You would've mentioned it." and then I'd be left to hang my head in shame so yeah, that's pretty much a fake conversation between you and me.**

**Your questions that I've been PMd/reviewed about will either be answered in this next chapter or are too secret revealing and will be answered in book 2. Info about book two is or will be on my profile page. Don't forget to answer the poll!**


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